A “predator” UK math teacher who had a baby with an underage student while she was out on bail for sex with another boy was found guilty of all six counts Friday.
Manchester math teacher Rebecca Joynes, 30, was convicted of having sex with the two underage students whom she’d groomed from the age of 15, the Manchester Evening News reported.
Joynes grimaced and visibly shook as the jury handed down the guilty verdict Friday at Manchester Crown Court.
“Rebecca Joynes is a sexual predator. Joynes was entrusted with the responsibility of teaching and safeguarding children,” senior prosecutor Jane Wilson said in the wake of the verdict.
“She abused her position to groom and ultimately sexually exploit schoolboys. Her behavior has had a lasting impact on them.”
Joynes, who joined the school in 2018, had just come out of a nine-year relationship and messy breakup when she became “flattered” by the attention from the teen schoolboys, her two-week trial heard.
She groomed the first boy, identified only as Boy A, by taking him shopping for a $450 Gucci belt, before driving him back to her apartment, where they had unprotected sex while he was still 15.
“Anyone in my position, when you are my age … If you ever see her — she is good-looking,” the boy told investigators in a video played in court.
The teacher was arrested after the boy’s disturbed mom noticed a love bite on her son’s neck. She was bailed out on strict orders not to have unsupervised contact with anyone under the age of 18.
But she almost immediately started flirting with another 15-year-old boy — who said they ended up having sex around 30 times.
That boy recalled how before the first time they had sex, the teacher “said something like ‘I don’t know if I want to do it until after you’ve left school or turn 18.’”
“I thought she wouldn’t do it again after she had already done it and been caught. I didn’t think she would do it again after being arrested,” the boy said.
Joynes eventually became pregnant and earlier this year had a daughter with Boy B, who had not wanted to keep the child, according to the Manchester paper.
She sobbed on the stand as she recounted how her baby was “taken away” from her within a day of being born, and how she only gets a few hours with her each week — something that will only dwindle now that she will likely spend time behind bars, she was warned.
“There’s a baby in this case who has done nothing wrong and is entirely innocent of all wrongdoing and you will obviously want to see her before the sentence is passed, I do understand that,” Judge Kate Cornell said after the verdict was handed down.
“But you must be under no illusion what’s going to happen” at sentencing on July 4, the judge warned.
The teacher, who was suspended and then fired from her job, was allowed out on bail ahead of sentencing.
She was convicted of four counts of sex with a child when at least one of the boys was still 15, under the UK age of consent of 16. She was also convicted of two counts of sexual activity with a child by a person in a position of trust, referring to how it was illegal for the teacher to have sex with the boys even after they turned 16.
Abhinav Thawait is a globe-trotting correspondent with a passion for international affairs. With a background in international relations, he offers a global perspective on the most pressing issues around the world. Abhinav’s curiosity takes his to the far corners of the earth, where he seeks to share untold stories and diverse viewpoints.
