Salford teacher guilty of sexual activity with two teenage boys

A teacher has been found guilty of having sex with two schoolboys.

Rebecca Joynes, 30, groomed the youngsters from the age of 15, Manchester Crown Court heard, and was on bail for sexual activity with the first child, boy A, when she began having sex with the second, boy B, who she went on to become pregnant by.

Neither teen must be identified.

Joynes was convicted of six counts of engaging in sexual activity with a child, including two while being a person in a position of trust.

Petite, softly-spoken and described by the teenagers as "really pretty" Joynes closed her eyes and grimaced, before she began visibly shaking as she stood in the dock as the guilty verdicts were returned by the jury foreman following a two week trial.

Her mother and father, sat in the public gallery, made no reaction but yards away the parents of the boys stifled cheers as Joynes was convicted.

Judge Kate Cornell thanked jurors and said she would need reports on the defendant before she can pass sentence in July.

She bailed Joynes, but warned her: "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.

"But you must be under no illusion what's going to happen on the fourth of July."

Michael O'Brien, defending, asked for bail for the defendant and is now making a bail application.

Joynes joined the school in 2018, as part of the Teach First teacher recruitment scheme after studying for a sports and exercise science degree.

She said she was 28, had undergone a messy break-up after the end of a nine-year relationship, struggled during the Covid pandemic, and was lonely when she became "flattered" by the attention of teenage schoolboys.

Joynes, referred to as 'Bunda Becky' by the boys, some making inappropriate comments to her, instead of shutting down the behaviour, would "laugh it off".

The defendant said boy A got her mobile number after she gave him all but one of the digits, and as a problem-solving exercise, he had to work out the final digit. They connected on Snapchat and he sent her flirty texts with the pair agreeing to meet in secret.

Boy A told his mother his schoolteacher was "well fit" and all the boys fancied her, which she dismissed as a "typical teenage" boy's comment.

Two weeks later the youngster lied to her that he was staying over at a friend's house to play Fifa after school finished on Friday.

Instead Joynes picked him up near his home in her Audi A1, took him to the Trafford Centre and bought him a £350 Gucci belt.

On the way Joynes laughed and said, "Oh shut up!" when boy A, referring to driving, said, 'I'm not old enough".

Back at her flat they kissed then had sex twice, Joynes telling the boy, "No one had better find out".

The next day the boy's mother noticed a love-bite on her son's neck which he dismissed as, "nothing".

However, boy A had taken a photo on his Snapchat and rumours began to circulate as police received a tip-off.

Come Monday morning, officers were at the school along with boy A's "distraught" mother who stormed into reception after being told her son had spent the night with a teacher.

Boy A initially told police it was just "banter" between the boys that got out of hand, as Joynes was suspended and a police investigation began.

His semen was later recovered from bed sheets seized at the teacher's flat.

She was bailed on condition she have no unsupervised contact with anyone under 18.

Joynes said she then had a "breakdown" and moved back to her parents on the Wirral.

She was at a low point when boy B messaged her on Snapchat asking how she was. "I genuinely thought he cared," Joynes said.

Soon boy B was also messaging, "Get your tits out", Joynes replying, "Not tonight".

She moved back to Salford Quays and boy B visited, with Joynes straddling him and they kissed, but she suggested waiting until he was 16 before going any further.

After his birthday boy B lied to his parents telling them he was off to watch a Manchester United match but instead again went to Joynes' apartment.

He told jurors how he was "nervous" when he lost his virginity to Joynes, warning her, "Don't expect anything big, I'm only 16''.

As he stripped Joynes said, "Oh! You lied to me".

He later told police he regarded the relationship as "friends with benefits" and said they regularly had sex while he was still at school.

He said Joynes had told him she could not have a baby and they had unprotected sex, but in fact she discovered she was pregnant.

The relationship also soured, with frequent rows, as Joynes became jealous and controlling, he claimed.

In a bid to save the relationship and just a day before Joynes was arrested for a second time, she invited boy B round for a "date night" involving an Ann Summers scratchcard of sexual activities, rose petals and hidden notes around her flat, leading to "surprises" which he played along with and followed.

At the end it was a baby grow, saying, 'Best Dad' on the front.

"I was like, 'What the f***!'" boy B told police.

In a letter to boy B, Joynes wrote: "Every inch of you is perfect. You are all I ever dream about".

She was arrested the next day for breaking her bail conditions and spent five months in custody until she was bailed in November last year, giving birth in early 2024.

Joynes wore a pink baby's bonnet tucked into her trousers while coming into court, wiping tears away as she told how the baby was taken away from her 24 hours after giving birth.

The bonnet was a "naked attempt to garner sympathy", prosecutor Joe Allman said.

Joynes denied any sexual activity with boy A ever took place and said that when he stayed over at her flat he slept on the sofa.

And she said sexual activity with boy B only began after he had left school and she had been dismissed from her job, so no offence had been committed as she was no longer in a position of authority.

She said she felt lonely, let her guard down and "caved in" to the attention she was getting, making "stupid mistakes" by meeting youngsters out of school, but denied wrongdoing.

Mr Allman suggested she saw her position differently because she was a woman, and no-one would have any sympathy for a 30-year-old male teacher taking teenage girls to his flat.

Jane Wilson, senior crown prosecutor for CPS North West, said: "Rebecca Joynes is a sexual predator.

"Joynes was entrusted with the responsibility of teaching and safeguarding children. She abused her position to groom and ultimately sexually exploit schoolboys. Her behaviour has had a lasting impact on them.

"The CPS worked with Greater Manchester Police to build a strong case to put before the jury, including eyewitness testimony, phone evidence showing the messages sent by Joynes and CCTV footage.

"I would like to thank the victims for supporting the prosecution. Joynes will now face the consequences of her actions."

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