U.K. teacher accused of sex with students sobs in court about baby being taken
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A U.K. teacher accused of having sex with two underage students sobbed in court on Monday as she described how her baby girl — resulting from one of the alleged trysts — was “taken away” from her.
Rebecca Joynes, 30, told jurors at Manchester Crown Court that her baby was taken from her “24 hours after being born” and she only sees the child “three times a week for three hours and that’s it,” according to the Manchester Evening News. Court heard she gave birth in January, but the child was removed from her care following an emergency hearing.
Joynes, who taught in the Greater Manchester school system, has pleaded not guilty to six counts of sexual activity with a child, the Evening News reported.
The allegations involve two teenage boys — who cannot be named for legal reasons — she met while she was a teacher. Jurors have heard that Joynes allegedly groomed one of the boys with a shopping trip before having sex with him, the Evening News reported. She was then impregnated by the other teen, court heard.
Joynes told court the first boy was constantly “pushing boundaries” in class and “getting a bit more flirtatious” before asking her repeatedly for her number. He also added her as a contact on Snapchat, which she accepted, court heard, via the Evening News.
She told her lawyer it was “really stupid” to do that when asked if it was normal for a teacher to be messaging students.
“Absolutely not, as a professional teacher I should have never engaged in that,” she told court, via the Evening News. “I have to take accountability for that.”
She admitted to taking the boy to a mall in the Manchester area as well, where she bought him a $600 Gucci belt. He ended up staying the night, but Joynes told court that they “definitely” didn’t have sex despite his DNA being found on her bedsheets, the Evening News reported.
“Is there anything about that period you would change?” her lawyer Michael O’Brien said, via the Evening News.
“Everything,” a tearful Joynes reportedly replied. “As a teacher, I should have never engaged in phone contact with a student, I should have never taken him to the Trafford Centre (shopping mall) and definitely not let him into my apartment.”
Joynes denied having sex with the other boy until he was of legal age of 16, court heard via the Evening News, adding that she was suspended from teaching at the time. She said they messaged each other on Snapchat and he eventually became her “best friend.”
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After his birthday, Joynes said he messaged her by saying, “I’ve left school now,” with a winky face emoji. He later went to her apartment after she received a notice of being dismissed as a teacher and they had sex, she told jurors via the Evening News.
Joynes said the relationship “wasn’t perfect, as they argued a lot,” and she described the teen as “very controlling.
“It (the relationship) was quite toxic,” she said via the Evening News, noting she later discovered she was pregnant.
The trial continues.
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