A teacher who had sex with two schools was jailed

A teacher who had sex with two schoolchildren and got pregnant by one of them has been jailed.

Rebecca Joynes groomed two boys from the age of 15, first exchanging messages on social media, Manchester Crown Court heard.

The 30-year-old was previously convicted of four counts of sexual activity with a child and two counts of sexual activity with another child.

Joynes wept and shook in the dock as he was sentenced to six and a half years.

The trial heard that Joynes was 28 when she left a nine-year relationship and was “flattered” by the attentions of teenage schoolboys.

Neither of the teenagers – known as Boy A and Boy B during the trial – could not be identified because of their ages.

‘Handsome’

Joynes gave birth to baby Boy B in early 2024, with the child taken from her within 24 hours.

In his victim impact statement, Boy B said “one of the hardest things” was not being told about the baby.

He added: “I’m fighting to get over the abuse, I’m not denying it.”

During the trial, she said she felt she had “betrayed someone I love and done something wrong by giving evidence” but was only beginning to understand “the truth” of the abuse and the “tactics used”.

He said he was “coerced, controlled, manipulated, sexually abused, and mentally abused”, adding: “I will forever be Rebecca’s victim and forever linked to her through our child.”

At the sentencing hearing, the judge, Kate Cornell, told Joynes: “You’re an adult, a man in control.

“You should have known better. You failed to enforce the boundaries of proper conduct but deliberately violated them.”

The trial heard Joynes would “laugh off” inappropriate comments rather than turn off the behaviour.

He gave Boy A all but one digit of his cell phone number as a math problem-solving exercise where he had to do the last digit.

They then connected on Snapchat and they sent each other flirtatious texts, with the pair agreeing to meet in secret.

Boy A lied to his mother that he was staying at a friend’s house after school but Joynes picked him up and took him to the Trafford Centre, where he bought a £350 Gucci belt.

Judge Cornell said CCTV footage of Joynes buying the belt showed that “flirty body language and eye contact could hardly be a clearer indication of grooming behaviour”.

Back at her flat Joynes has sex twice with Boy A.

The next day, the boy’s mother noticed that there was love on her son’s neck, which she thought was “nothing”.

The court heard he stormed into the school reception when police were called about the case.

Joynes was later released on the condition that he will have no unsupervised contact with anyone under the age of 18.

She told the trial she then moved back to her parents in Wirral after having a “breakdown” and she was at a low point when Boy B messaged her on Snapchat.

She later told police that she often had unprotected sex at the Salford Quays flat and that Joynes had told her she could not get pregnant.

Joynes was arrested for breaching his bail conditions and held for five months until he was released in November last year.

Boy B said in the statement that it took a “huge mental toll” on him and his family.

She said she had been told by social services that Joynes had refused to give any news about the baby’s birth date, gender or health.

“The thought of not being able to see my son is heartbreaking,” she said.

Judge Cornell said Joynes was a “high achiever” who threw away her career and took the baby away from her through her own actions.

“You felt buoyed and boosted by the attention,” she added.

“Without any real insight from you, you continue to deny the offense and remain silent about the disturbing impact on these children.”

‘Destructive and dangerous’

Det Con Beth Alexander, of Greater Manchester Police, said: “Schools should be safe places for children.

“It was clear from some of the public comments when Joynes was convicted that there is still a lack of understanding when it comes to men and boys being victims of sexual abuse.

“He has to read comments that say other people are ‘jealous’ of him, and that he ‘must be happy that a young female teacher is interested in him’, and this rhetoric is damaging and dangerous.

“Women can still be pedophiles; this term is not just for men. Men and boys can still be victims of sexual harassment.”

Additional reporting from PA News.

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