THE ex-husband of a paedophile teacher who seduced a 15-year-old pupil has revealed how he has finally found love again.
Danny Barber, 40, stood by his ex-wife Kandice Barber when she was found guilty of having sex with a 15-year-old, shouting ‘it’s a joke’ when she was sentenced to more than six years.
However, Danny says he has finally moved on from his marriage and has found a loving relationship with Charlotte Smith.
The dad admits that when he first met Kandice back in 2015, she seemed like the woman of his dreams.
In this exclusive interview, Danny says: “I met Kandice on Plenty of Fish and after swapping messages and calls for a few weeks we went for a Chinese together.
“There wasn’t a lull in conversation all night.
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“She was blonde, attractive and intelligent — everything I was looking for.
“Kandice had three children of her own and said that as a teaching assistant she had always been good with kids.
“Her caring side appealed to me, and with two kids myself, we had a lot in common.”
As weeks went by the pair enjoyed dates to the seaside and took their kids to crazy golf before moving into together six months later.
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“Once we were living together Kandice told me that she had a tough time in previous relationships,” the dad says.
“I just wanted to make her happy and protect her.”
Less than a year later Danny popped the question on New Year’s Eve, getting down on one knee in his mum’s garden which he had decorated with fairy lights.
Eight months later the pair tied the knot and three months after that they moved to be nearer her mum so that they could bring up their kids in a safer environment.
“We seemed to settle into married life well, and I enjoyed hearing her call me her husband,” Danny says.
Five months later, their relationship took a turn when Kandice headed off to the school she worked at as a supply teacher.
“I heard my front door open and I couldn’t believe my eyes as several police officers walked in,” Danny says.
“The police told me Kandice had been arrested.
“A police officer wrote something on a piece of paper and slid it towards me.
“My head was all over the place, so I couldn’t fully grasp what it said, but I knew it was related to a child.
“I went into shock, and my teeth started chattering.
“I could barely comprehend what I was being told — that my wife was being suspected of child abuse.”
Police searched the family home taking away any computers and phones before social services called to arrange a visit.
After Kandice was questioned by police, Danny drove to the station to collect his wife.
I couldn’t find the words to tell her what my ex had done, but one day, she Googled me and found out.”
“We drove in total silence until I demanded answers,” Danny says.
“Kandice swore it was ‘all lies’ and insisted that she hadn’t had sex with the boy and started to cry.
“She kept repeating she was innocent, and wanted to live a normal life for the kids.
“I wanted so much to believe her. She was my partner, someone I got into bed with every night.”
Danny admits that he couldn’t ignore the niggles at the back of his brain that something was very wrong.
“When I picked my daughter up from school I found myself looking at the boys and wondering if they were my wife’s type,” he says.
“I couldn’t completely squash my doubts.”
The family tried to continue life as normally as possible and for the time being they didn’t hear anything from the police.
“Strangely, to me Kandice didn’t seem fazed by what was going on,” Danny says.
“Then, eight months later, I was at work when I got a phone call from Kandice, sounding distressed.”
Kandice explained that she had been charged on three counts of causing or inciting a child aged under 16 years to engage in a sexual act, one count of sexual communication with a child, one count of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activities while in a position of trust, and one count of causing a child to watch a sexual act by a person in a position of trust.
But Danny says the teacher continued to protest her innocence, implying that the victim had invented the incident.
During the trial at Aylesbury Crown Court, Danny appeared as a witness for her defence and was quizzed on every aspect of their sex life.
The trial was a huge burden on Danny.
He says: “I read humiliating details in the paper, such as one of my wife’s text messages, which read: ‘You have a bigger p**** than my husband.’
“As I tried to make sense of the evidence, it seemed to me that the times we’d had a rough patch in our sex life had coincided with the dates she was accused of sleeping with the 15-year-old pupil.”
Kandice was convicted on two sex offence charges relating to sending topless Snapchat pictures and a video, but the jury was unable to reach verdicts on the charges of causing or inciting a child aged under 16 to engage in a sexual act.
In time, Kandice, 35, appeared at the same court for a retrial, where she denied causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.
The court heard how Kandice added herself to the victim's Snapchat account and exchanged messages with the boy, which became sexual.
She also sent the victim pictures, including a topless image and a live video of a sexual act.
The court heard how Kandice later asked the boy to meet her, going to a private field and having sex with him.
“It was gruelling and shameful to go through it again and hear the lurid allegations,” Danny says.
“Two weeks later, she was found guilty of one charge of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity but found not guilty of two further counts of the same offence.
“I felt emotionally drained and terrified for her because I knew she would be locked up the next day.
“I made spaghetti Bolognese for her last night of freedom and then Kandice talked to each of her kids in turn.
“I was so torn, part of me wondering how she’d cope in a cell, away from our creature comforts.
“But another part thought: You've been found guilty of sleeping with a child. I'm embarrassed. I married you — I gave you my last name and you've shamed it in the darkest possible way.”
Sentencing Kandice to six years and two months in jail, Recorder Bal Dhaliwal said Barber had 'acted in gross breach of trust' and had taken 'advantage of a child in your care and groomed him for your own sexual gratification'.
She told Kandice: ‘You had control and authority over him. He felt drawn in by you due to the compliments, you caused him to engage in sex with you while he was a pupil in your care. You threatened to take him down with you if he reported it. You already had authority over him by virtue of your position but to use threats is beyond despicable.'
The court heard a statement from the victim, who said he faced stress and anxiety as a result of the incidents and two trials.
In the weeks following the trial, Danny struggled with the enormity of crime.
I could barely comprehend what I was being told — that my wife was being suspected of child abuse.”
“Kandice called me from prison and told me that she’d only serve three years,” Danny says.
“She told me that we would get through it together, I felt totally lost and didn’t know what to do.”
It was when Danny faced further tragedy, he says, that he finally saw Kandice’s true colours.
“A month later, my stepdad died, followed a few months later by my sister,” he says.
“I was going through the darkest time of my life and the person who should have been there for me — my wife — was in prison.
“It was hard because I was standing by her, and people thought I must be a paedophile, too.
“She said she was suffering but she was in a cell and just had to survive.
“I felt I was dealing with all the backlash.
“Then one evening, she called, wanting to be romantic, I didn’t want to and started to distance myself from her.
“She never wavered from saying she was innocent, and I was still trying to believe her.
“But then I wondered why the boy would make everything up.
“It didn’t make sense.
“When she filed for divorce, I was relieved. I just couldn’t support her any more.”
Free of Kandice, Danny has finally been able to move on and find love once again.
“In time, I met someone new, Charlotte,” he says.
“I couldn’t find the words to tell her what my ex had done, but one day she Googled me and found out.
“It was tough and there were lots of tears, but we worked through it.
“Now, we’re expecting a baby and I’m the happiest I’ve been in years.
“I’ve been through hell and wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.
“I’ve chosen to walk away from Kandice, so my actions show I don’t believe her any more.
“I just wish I could find out what she actually did.
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“I loved her and thought I knew her.
“But after the sickening things she’s done, I realise I didn’t know her at all.”
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