A man accused of abducting a schoolgirl and taking her to France wept in court as he was described as "one of the most gifted teachers".
Lewes Crown Court was also told that Jeremy Forrest, who denies a charge of child abduction, will not be giving evidence during his trial.
The court previously heard that the pupil involved in the case was 15 years old when she started a sexual relationship with Forrest after developing a crush on him at Bishop Bell CofE School in Eastbourne, Sussex.
Fearing they were about to be exposed, Forrest booked them on a cross-Channel ferry from Dover to Calais last September before spending a week on the run in France.
The 30-year-old broke down in tears as a witness statement read out in court said he was "one of most gifted teachers I have ever met". Forrest was also said to be "popular with pupils".
He was described as a "talented and inspirational" teacher who "cared for others" and who has spent his time in prison teaching other inmates.
Benedict Beaumont, a former ICT teacher at Bishop Bell School, said: "Jeremy was one of the most gifted teachers that I have ever met.
"In my opinion, one of the reasons that he was such a good teacher was that he cared deeply about the welfare of all his pupils.
"He was popular with pupils and staff at the school, but more importantly was respected by everyone as a talented and conscientious teacher.
"He is still relatively young but had a very bright future in teaching ahead of him."
Forrest continued crying as a statement from his sister, Carrie Hanspaul, said she believed his caring nature had got him into trouble.
"Jeremy has always been the quietest of us all," her statement said.
"He is very good natured and extremely mild-mannered. He never has a bad word to say about anyone and always strives to do whatever he can to help other people and care for them.
"Unfortunately I believe this has contributed to his recent actions. Jeremy has been in a very difficult relationship for the last six years but did not want to worry any of his family, especially our parents, with his problems.
"Instead he withdrew more and more and tried to deal with the issues himself. I believe he became more and more depressed."
A statement provided by his best friend, Dale Ives Routlett, said Forrest had "always been a thinker, not a person who made rash decisions without taking consequences into account".
Ronald Jaffa, defending, told the court that Forrest would not be giving evidence.
Summing up the prosecution case, Richard Barton told the jury Forrest could be considered as a "paedophile" who had "groomed" the schoolgirl.
"You do not have to decide whether he was a paedophile; you may consider, in the context of what he did, that is not an inappropriate label for him," he said.
"It is about his desires to have that young sexual flesh, to satisfy his own carnal lusts. You may feel it had nothing to do with her, it was to do with him, with his desires.
"You may feel he is a man who is flattered by the attention of very young, vulnerable girls.
"There is a word for it. It's called grooming - being caring, being kind, being close, gaining confidence, gaining the trust of that person and then you can do what you want to do with them."
Mr Barton said it was not a case of Romeo and Juliet as they would have to have been "equal" partners in what happened. He said in this case it was Forrest who organised the elopement.
"A teenager isn't going to get out of Eastbourne, let alone out of the country."
Then, directing his speech at Forrest, he said: "How did you feel, Mr Forrest, that first time with that 14-year-old girl in the classroom in her school uniform, when you kissed her the first time?"
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