Sprung Dawson told BBC Radio Scotland: “I have a conviction for a sexual offence. I was a teacher and I had an affair with a 17-year-old pupil, so I do have experience of, kind of, living with the challenges that a person can face as a result of having a criminal record.
“I never experienced a custodial sentence, but I certainly did experience stigma.”
She added: “I mean, I had an exceptionally large amount of press coverage, media coverage, for many, many years following my conviction.
“And I think I would say that was the most difficult thing I experienced.”
In December 2012, Sprung Dawson drove to a secluded layby with the teenage boy and engaged in sexual activity.
The pair were discovered by patrolling police officers, whose suspicions were aroused after they spotted condensation on the car windows.
Sprung Dawson, then 26, taught English at St Joseph’s College in Dumfries and had agreed to give the dyslexic teenager extra tuition.
During sentencing at Dumfries sheriff court in June 2013, Judge George Jamieson told her: “You were there simply to teach, but you have been called into temptation and you have committed adultery – your marriage is gone and your career as a teacher is gone.
“What you have been charged with is a breach of trust, and I cannot see that there is anything to be gained by a custodial sentence.
“Had it not been for the fact that you were this young man’s teacher, there would have been no criminality.”
It later emerged that she was living with the teenager in her marital home less than two months after being put on the sex offenders register.
Sprung Dawson was struck off the teaching register in December 2013.
She has since set up a charity called Next Chapter Scotland, which aims to “help anyone who has been involved with the criminal justice system to navigate the stigma and discrimination that they can face throughout their lives”.
