The English teacher groomed the girls by giving them extra attention and gifts before he coerced them into lengthy sexual relationships.
Clifton pleaded guilty to nine child sex offences and in June he was sentenced to five years in prison.
The police investigation launched in 2019 when the later victim, who we will refer to with the pseudonym Katherine, told police Clifton began a relationship with her when she was 15.
Struggling with stress at home and issues with friends at school, Katherine used creative writing to express herself.
She asked Clifton, her English teacher, for help and he used this as a way to gain her trust.
He assigned them pet names to ensure no one found out about their “secret” relationship.
Katherine kept a journal of their interactions, including the date of their first kiss and times they had sex both on and off school premises over the course of a year.
In a victim statement, Katherine said: “Asking how this impacts my life is like asking someone how they breathe.
“The age I was when this happened is such a pivotal age. It is when you start finding yourself, when you start carving out who you are. The defendant robbed that from me.
“He used gifting me books to gain my trust and get closer to me. Now I think I’m subconsciously connecting books to something terrible. I don’t read anymore.
“Despite all these challenges…I have managed to stay strong and determined. I hold down a job I am proud of, I am surrounded by friends and family who love me deeply. I still have hope that one day I will enjoy books again. I am still me.
“Ultimately, I hope I can lay these events to rest and progress into a bright future.”
As the investigation was ongoing a second victim, who we’ll refer to as Alison, was identified.
Alison was 15 in 2006 when she was groomed by Clifton at a school in south east London.
He began belittling her in class – making her feel stupid – and made her bring her homework to his home when she missed a deadline.
But Clifton’s tone soon changed and he began asking Alison for sexual photos.
He convinced her they were in love and shortly after she turned 16 he persuaded her to go round to his home and had sex with her.
Alison said: “Paul Clifton made me feel stupid and unworthy. He created an image that I would never amount to anything without him.
“Paul Clifton will have no sense of guilt or remorse for what he has done. In my mid-twenties he found me on Instagram and sent me a direct message saying he didn’t blame me for how things ended and knew what we had was real.
“I received this message on the middle of my working day and it sent me into a full panic attack. I had to run straight out of the office to try and catch my breath and stop crying, not wanting anyone to see.
“What happened to me…is something that can never be undone.”
When interviewed, Clifton denied any sexual contact with the victims and even claimed to have a father-daughter relationship with Katherine.
This lie failed when the interviewing officer read a text message her had sent telling Katherine he missed “the way you kiss me and touch me, the way you look at me”.
The sex offender later pleaded guilty to sexual communications with a child, sexual activity with a child involving touching, four counts of sexual activity with a child involving penetration, causing or inciting sexual activity with a child and two counts of abusing a position of trust.
He will be subject to a lifelong Sexual Harm Prevention Order, which prohibits him from almost all contact with any female child under 18, and from undertaking any paid, voluntary or recreational activity that is likely to bring him into supervisory contact with any female child under 18.
Investigating officer, DC Nicola Deadman, said, “Clifton is a predator who targeted children.
“As a teacher, he should have had his students’ safety and their best interests at the forefront of his mind. He used the legitimacy of his position to establish trust and then groom the girls he was responsible for safeguarding. They trusted him and he betrayed their trust for his own ends.
“I’d like to pay tribute to the courage of the two victim-survivors, who have shown immense strength of character and bravery in coming forward and reliving these traumatic events to see justice done.”
