THE jury has retired to considered its verdicts on a teacher charged with sexually assaulting a number of young girls.

Johnathan Clayton is facing 13 charges on a total of six young girls at the same school over a six-week period last year.

During his trial at Teesside Crown Court, the 27-year-old admitted that he would give pupils hugs, help them to get dressed and let them sit on his knee but maintains there was nothing sexual about his behaviour.

Jurors heard how the supply teacher had been accused of molesting a pupil under 11 at a previous school in 2017, but the case against him was dropped.

Evidence of that alleged incident was allowed to be heard by jurors in support of the prosecution case in the current trial.

The supply teacher, of Carlton, Stockton, denies all the charges.

The case continues.