A British teacher, Rebecca Joynes, aged 30, was sentenced to six and a half years in jail for sexual activity with two teenage students and having a baby with one of them on Thursday. Joynes, a high achiever with a promising career, cultivated inappropriate relationships with both boys, identified as Boy A and Boy B, beginning when they were 15, and engaged in sexual activity with them even while on police bail.
Joynes had initially been on police bail for her activities with Boy A when she began a relationship with Boy B, which led to her becoming pregnant and having a child with him.The baby was removed from her care within 24 hours of birth. She was found guilty of six counts of engaging in sexual activity with a child, including two counts while being in a position of trust.
Passing sentence at Manchester Crown Court in northwestern England, Judge Kate Cornell told Joynes she had exhibited “breathtaking arrogance.”
“You were the person in control, the person who should have known better,” Judge Cornell said. “Instead, you abused that position of trust and exploited the privileged role for your own sexual gratification.”
Prosecutors detailed how Joynes had groomed the boys through social media messages before sexually engaging with them. The police investigation revealed she ignored explicit warnings not to have unsupervised contact with anyone under 18 while on bail.
Boy B provided a statement to the court saying he had been “coerced and controlled, manipulated, sexually abused, and mentally abused” by Joynes.
Detective Constable Beth Alexander, speaking outside the court, highlighted the broader issue of male victims of sexual offences. She noted that society often fails to understand that men and boys can be victims, leading to harmful rhetoric.
“They have had to read comments stating others are ‘jealous’ of them, and that they should be ‘happy a young female teacher was interested in them,’ and this rhetoric is very damaging and dangerous,” Alexander said.
“Women can still be paedophiles. This term is not reserved only for men. Men and boys can still be victims of sexual abuse,” she emphasized.
Joynes had initially been on police bail for her activities with Boy A when she began a relationship with Boy B, which led to her becoming pregnant and having a child with him.The baby was removed from her care within 24 hours of birth. She was found guilty of six counts of engaging in sexual activity with a child, including two counts while being in a position of trust.
Passing sentence at Manchester Crown Court in northwestern England, Judge Kate Cornell told Joynes she had exhibited “breathtaking arrogance.”
“You were the person in control, the person who should have known better,” Judge Cornell said. “Instead, you abused that position of trust and exploited the privileged role for your own sexual gratification.”
Prosecutors detailed how Joynes had groomed the boys through social media messages before sexually engaging with them. The police investigation revealed she ignored explicit warnings not to have unsupervised contact with anyone under 18 while on bail.
Boy B provided a statement to the court saying he had been “coerced and controlled, manipulated, sexually abused, and mentally abused” by Joynes.
Detective Constable Beth Alexander, speaking outside the court, highlighted the broader issue of male victims of sexual offences. She noted that society often fails to understand that men and boys can be victims, leading to harmful rhetoric.
“They have had to read comments stating others are ‘jealous’ of them, and that they should be ‘happy a young female teacher was interested in them,’ and this rhetoric is very damaging and dangerous,” Alexander said.
“Women can still be paedophiles. This term is not reserved only for men. Men and boys can still be victims of sexual abuse,” she emphasized.
