THE victim, and former wife, of shamed teacher William Gibson has criticised the decision to let him work in schools again.

Gibson, 59, was convicted in 1980 for indecently assaulting the teenage schoolgirl he later married.

Despite the conviction, he went on to work at schools in County Durham and South Tyneside.

The case related to a relationship that began when he was 33 and started dating a 15-year-old student from the Sunderland comprehensive school where he taught.

He was caught when he sent roses to her house and her parents became suspicious, leading to his conviction. The pair later married.

In 2000, in another case, he was jailed for two-and-a-half years for fraud, forgery and theft.

Revelations about his case earlier this month heaped pressure on Education Secretary Ruth Kelly over who decides whether a teacher with a sex conviction should be allowed to continue working with children.

It was revealed that her department had not blocked his employment in schools.

Now, in an interview with a Sunday newspaper, Gibson's former wife has spoken of her dismay at learning that he was able to work in schools again.

She spoke out after it was revealed that not only did he work in comprehensives in Hebburn, on South Tyneside, and in County Durham, but that he has recently been teaching on the South Coast.

It emerged that he is not banned from doing so, despite his background.

His former wife Jane, now aged 41, said that although she wed Gibson, the relationship was soon in trouble.

She said: "I was a naive, vulnerable and, in some ways, a foolish teenager who had never really had a boyfriend before.

"He was an adult in a position of responsibility, but he abused that trust."

The couple had three children and stayed together for 19 years.

Jane said: "I stayed for the sake of the children. It is the way I was brought up.

"I thought I had made a mess of my life, but that I had made my bed and I had to lie in it.

"In hindsight, I wish I had taken my mother's advice and admitted I had made a terrible mistake and gone home."

The Gibson case is one of several in which it has emerged that sex offenders were able to find work in schools without being prevented by the Education Department.

Last week, Ms Kelly announced that the vetting system was being strengthened to prevent re-occurrences.

But Jane said she was stunned that the issue should have reached such a point.

She said: "I cannot understand how the Government can think that he, or anyone like him, should ever be allowed anywhere near children again."