A SPORTS coach used the primary school where he worked to have sex with a teenage girl.

Glyn Thompson, 31, faces jail after pleading guilty to nine counts of sexual activity with a child at Burnley Crown Court yesterday.

The offences, which included intercourse and oral sex with the same girl, all took place between 2011 and 2012 while the defendant worked at Stoneyholme Primary School in Burnley.

He admitted having sex with the girl once at the school, once in his car, and once at his home.

Thompson, who was unshaven and wore a grey T-shirt, hung his head in the dock throughout the hearing, speaking only to enter his guilty pleas.

Thompson, of Padiham Road in Burnley, asked to be sentenced yesterday, but Judge Jonathan Gibson said another hearing would be held on August 23.

He said: “It’s going to be a custodial sentence.”

He remanded Thompson into custody and said he would be liable to the terms of the sex offenders’ register.

After the hearing, it was confirmed that Thompson remained suspended by the school, pending disciplinary proceedings.

At an earlier hearing at Blackburn Magistrates’ Court, the court was told Thompson befriended the girl, who he had known for a number of years, and began to email her.

The emails between Thompson and the girl progressed from conversation, to flirting, to more intimate content with the pair exchanging photographs.

After a few months, the relationship became sexual after she and Thompson found themselves alone together.

At the earlier hearing, Thompson’s encounter with the girl was described as ‘not just a one-off’, but a sustained period of grooming that led to a ‘full blown sexual relationship’.

Thompson, who was in a relationship at the time, was caught when an anonymous letter was sent to the school.

The defendant, who has a young son, was asked speak to police voluntarily about the letter, and initially made no comment.

But he arranged to return to the police station the next day, and made a full confession, volunteering to show officers the e-mails that had been exchanged.

The magistrates’ court heard that Thompson, who had no previous convictions, could face 14 years in jail.

He was warned because of the period over which the offences took place, and because of the position of trust he was in, he should expect to serve six years.

Det Insp Paul Broxson, of Burnley CID, said he was pleased the girl would not need to give court evidence.

He said: “We will continue to work with the victim, with the support of other agencies, to offer all of the help and support we can.

“Thompson groomed her and took advantage of her. We take offences of this nature very seriously and will work hard to bring offenders like this to justice.”