He was the flamboyant head who promoted his school in a social media blitz.
But, less publicly, Gregory Hill was also bombarding trainee teacher Chloe Regester with romantic messages, in a pattern of behaviour which only escalated after she spurned him.
At the start of his trial, prosecutor Monali Raleraskar said the headteacher should have known his actions towards a junior colleague on 13 occasions amounted to harassment.
Giving evidence via video link Ms Regester, who is in her 20s, said she became "scared" of her boss' behaviour.
The messages began as a result of Mr Hill's interest in social media and promoting King's Lynn's Howard Junior School.
Ms Regester was in charge of her class's Twitter account and Mr Hill praised her for her efforts.
But his messages soon took on a different tone.
HEAD'S UNWANTED ADVANCES
He moved from tweets and messages complimentary of his new teacher's efforts to making advances to a woman young enough to be his daughter.
"This is confidential but I have fallen in love with you," he told Ms Regester in one correspondence.
"It's hard for me but I will always be fun, kind and supportive."
After he professed his love on another occasion, she replied: "I'm sorry Greg I have never said that I have feelings for you. This has to stop."
In court, Hill's defence tried to suggest the teacher had encouraged her boss' advances, but this account was rejected by the district judge who commended her as a "consistent witness".
Under cross examination, Ms Regester was asked by Mathew Dance, defending Hill, whether she had built up a friendship with his client as well as a professional relationship.
"I was not in a friendship with Mr Hill," she said. "I felt obligated to reply to Mr Hill."
Mr Dance asked whether she thought adding heart emojis and kisses to her messages might have encouraged Hill to contact her.
"I react to a lot of messages with a heart," she said.
Hill sent her a picture of her face on March 4, 2022, messaging: "Can't wait to see this smile, this wonderful face."
Mr Dance said she replied: "Ah, you too."
Ms Regester told the court: "I didn't know what to say when my employer says they can't wait to see your wonderful face, I didn't know how to respond, it was the pressure of it all."
Mr Dance said her reply was a clear indication she had feelings for Hill.
The woman replied: "I absolutely did not have feelings for him, that is incorrect."
When Hill learned his victim was gay and in a same sex relationship, he made remarks about her sexuality, her partner and her clothing, saying she wore "lesbian shoes".
Mr Dance asked Ms Regester whether she had "fabricated events" to obtain compensation from Hill or the school.
"The only thing I want is to stop this happening to anybody else, to stop anybody else having to deal with the likes of this man ever again," she replied.
The trial heard Hill also harassed a second trainee teacher, making lewd sexual comments.
The woman said his behaviour made her feel "wildly uncomfortable and sick".
HOW DREAM JOB BECAME A NIGHTMARE
Giving evidence on the second day of the trial, Ms Regester's mother told of the impact on her daughter.
She said she was offered a job at Howard School soon after she graduated from university with a first class degree in teaching.
"She was over the moon, she was so excited," she said. "She just wanted to be the best teacher she could be."
But her mother said she soon became "shocked" at the hours her daughter was working, with long school days followed by work on her laptop at home.
She also became concerned about the amount of emails she was receiving from Hill.
Asked by the prosecution why she told her daughter to go to the police, she said: "I was scared for her safety, I didn't know what he was going to do next.
"When she started at school, she was really enthusiastic, throwing herself into everything.
"Over time she just became really anxious, she was crying nearly every day, she didn't know how to cope with the situation she found herself in."
ARRESTED AT SCHOOL
Police arrested Hill as he arrived for work at Howard Junior School on Monday, March 6.
Two female officers approached him, saying an allegation had been made which they needed to discuss with him.
But Hill refused to go quietly, screaming that he was being assaulted after an officer placed her arm on him.
Body-word camera footage played in court showed the ensuing 30-minute struggle.
"I haven't done anything, I've been assaulted," Hill shouts. "Somebody help me, help me.
"You don't have to humiliate me in front of my school, you've done my job in.
"You're going to give me a heart attack, you're going to kill me. You've destroyed my job and my career."
One officer is heard to say calmly: "Mr Hill, you are resisting us, you are making this worse."
Asked in court by Mr Dance why police opted to arrest Hill at school rather than send him a letter, asking him to book an appointment, PC Heidi Hollington said they needed to seize electronic devices for evidence.
Asked whether he had been assaulted by "heavy-handed" officers, she said she strongly disagreed.
E-MAILS PROTESTING INNOCENCE
Hill maintained his innocence through the trial. He complained in one e-mail to the Office of the Police And Crime Commissioner and his MP beforehand: "I've had three very serious assaults so far on me. Illegal searches of my school.
"My pupils terrorised and school community upset. My school destroyed. My life destroyed. My finances destroyed. My health destroyed. My high standing reputation destroyed."
Hill said of his arrest: "I needed a wheelchair and all I had left was to call out to Jesus for help. I knew I couldn't sustain the assault much longer. I was left on the floor of my cell paralysed with fear after being dragged to it by on leg down many corridors.
"The dragging me by one foot down endless corridors with me on my stomach was humiliating, painful and unpleasant. I'm sure this is not operational procedure."
In a message to members of the media, requesting they attend the trial, he said he had been "set up".
"If Norfolk Police get away with this Norfolk police service is lost," he went on. "It will continue to be corrupt and run by families who utilise any resource they like and run Norfolk Police like a medieval fiefdom."
CONSPIRACY TO BRING DOWN HEAD CLAIM
A now-deleted Twitter feed posted claims of a conspiracy. The Save Howard Junior account said Hill had been set up because his school was too successful.
Hill was certainly a high profile head, who lost no opportunity to promote the school of which he had been head for 15 years.
He renamed it Harry Kane Junior School after the England captain during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
He said the change would be permanent if England won the tournament, while Mr Kane said he would visit it if the Three Lions lifted the trophy.
The school also made headlines around the world after Mr Hill and pupils spoke to the Prince and Princess of Wales, when they visited Sandringham in September 2022 to see flowers and tributes which had been left at the gates after the death of the Queen.
There were Lego lessons, a Dr Who corridor and a Harry Potter library.
But an Ofsted inspection soon after Hill's arrest gave Howard Junior an 'inadequate' rating.
Its report said the school had “serious failings” which had been “unchallenged for too long”.
The school is no longer operated by the Apollo Academies Trust, which was also run by Hill.
In December, it was taken over by the Eastern Multi Academy Trust (EMAT), which operates 10 primary schools across West Norfolk and Breckland.
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