Boy groomed by Rebecca Joynes says 'the most innocent victim is our child'

A schoolboy told how his life was "torn apart" after he was groomed by his teacher.

Boy B, who can't be named for legal reasons, was one of two boys who was groomed by Rebecca Joynes, who went on to have his baby. The 30-year-old met the two boys through her job as a teacher at a Greater Manchester school, which cannot be named for legal reasons.

Joynes denied four counts of sexual activity with a child and two counts with sexual activity with a child by a person in a position of trust. But she was found guilty on all counts following a two week trial on Friday, May 17.

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The 30-year-old, of Pensby Road, Wirral, is back at Manchester Crown Court today (July 4) for sentencing. During today's hearing, the court heard a victim personal impact statement from Boy B, which was read out by prosecutor Joe Allman.

The statement said: "I want to make people aware of how the situation impacted my life. At the time of the previous statement I was still in love with her, and struggled to come to terms with the abuse, and was in denial.

"Rebecca was in my head that much, I would argue until I was blue in the face protecting her and would not hear a bad word about her. I felt betrayed by someone I loved and felt a large sense of guilt for a long time.

"I was worried about giving a statement about the woman carrying my child. I was coerced, controlled and sexually abused, it was very upsetting this happened to me and I had little to no support from organisations.

"For months after the abuse it was a very dark time. I felt backed into a corner, I had just lived a double life for 18 months, and it had a massive mental toll on me and my family.

"It tore my family apart, they struggled to come to terms with the fact they brought me to school which was supposed to be a safe environment. My parents broke down every day and night."

It continued: "The most innocent victim is our child, and I’ve come to realise how important my role is in ensuring they are supported by love. I understand the difficulty and impact this will have on my child.

"They will not have their mum present, and this will leave them with questions. I have no doubt I will have to deal with the questions that come."

He added: "The term ‘victim’ has been used to describe myself and Boy A, but it's bigger than that. It reaches further than us. All our families have been profoundly impacted. They're support never waived; they have been incredibly respectful, including to Rebecca and her family.

"When she was released on bail in November, I really struggled and wondered how my abuser could be walking free. I had a panic attack seeing the news, I’d never had a panic attack before. I struggled to understand how she takes no responsibility."

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