Boy who had sex with teacher Rebecca Joynes tells court: "I was coerced and controlled, manipulated, sexually abused"

One of the two boys Rebecca Joynes had sex with while she was a teacher told her sentencing hearing he was 'in denial' at first but now understands she groomed and abused him.

He said he felt as if he had 'betrayed' her by giving evidence but now understands that he was 'coerced and controlled, manipulated, sexually abused, and mentally abused'.

The boy's epiphany and suffering was laid bare today during Joyne's sentencing hearing at Manchester Crown Court. She was being sentenced for having sex with two pupils while she was a teacher. Following a trial in May this year, jurors found the 30-year-old guilty of six counts of engaging in sexual activity with a child.

READ MORE: Finally, the full truth of Greater Manchester teacher Rebecca Joynes' sex crimes can be told

The offences concerned two teenage boys she met through her job as a teacher at a Greater Manchester school. The boys - and the school - cannot be identified for legal reasons.

Manchester Crown Court previously heard she took a 15-year-old boy, referred to in press reports of proceedings as 'Boy A', to the Trafford Centre and bought him a £345 Gucci belt from Selfridges, before she took him back to her apartment in Salford, where they had sex.

She was suspended from her post and was later discovered to have fallen pregnant with a second boy - 'Boy B' - who she met when he was aged 15 before they kissed.

The relationship turned sexual, with Joynes falling pregnant and later having his baby, despite telling him it was 'almost impossible' for her to conceive due to a health issue. He learned she was pregnant, 'to his great shock' after she planned a 'date night' with rose petals and love notes.

She gave him a baby grow with the words 'I love my daddy to the moon and and back' on it.

Boy B, in a victim personal statement read out in court, admitted that when he penned his original statement he was 'still in love with Rebecca' and was 'completely in denial' about the abuse he suffered.

He wrote: "I subsequently held back and did not fully open up to people... 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 against her.

"I felt as so (sic) I had betrayed someone I love and had done wrong by giving evidence. I felt a large sense of guilt for a long time. I questioned if I was right to give statements about the woman who was carrying my child, since then I have replayed a lot of things in my head, and spoken to a lot of people, and it has made me realise the full extent of the abuse carried out on me and the tactics that were used to do so.

"I was coerced and controlled, manipulated, sexually abused, and mentally abused. It is very upsetting that this has happened to me, and I have had little to no support from any organisations. I am only just finding help through self-referrals and help from a family support worker.

"The months after the abuse happened to me, was a very dark time, I felt backed into a corner. I had just lived a double life for 18 months behind my family’s back. This had a massive mental toll over me and my family. It tore my family apart, they struggled to come to terms with the fact they sent me to school, where they believed it to be a safe environment, and this happened as a result."

He went on that his parents 'broke down every day and night trying to get me to speak' and that he 'held many things back'.

"I thought I would be better off dealing with things alone, as it is a rare case and not very relatable to others," he said.

He added: "The gender and inequality I have faced is absurd. Feel that because of my gender this is seen as a lesser crime than it would be vice versa.... Despite the difference in gender, the mental impact is the same and has had a tremendous impact on me."

He pointed to the 'lack of the provision of services' and said he had been 'let down'.

"The grooming started at 15 years of age, and I have struggled to find any services which support males of my age, in sexual abuse counselling and support. There are a lot for young females and children though. I feel like sometimes these crimes go unnoticed due to men bottling things up, I hope there is an increase in these services in the future," he wrote.

He described the turmoil he felt during the pregnancy and the thought of not being able to see his new infant was 'heart-breaking'.

The victim said he 'really struggled' when Joynes was released on bail. "I wondered how my abuser could be walking free. I had a panic attack shortly after receiving the news, unable to breathe," he said.

He said: "The uncertainly of everything has been a huge struggle. I note that it has been two and a half years since her first arrest, with no verdict, how do we have sex offenders walking freely in society. This is a huge concern especially as I now have a child in the world."

He criticised Joynes who 'takes no responsibility' for her crimes and who he said had thrown 'false accusations' at him.

He said he had 'never been in trouble in my life' and he found the court process 'intimidating'. He lasted his abuser's 'lack of remorse'.

"She thinks she can get away with anything she wants.," he said.

Joynes, of Pensby Road, Wirral, denied four counts of sexual activity with a child; and two counts of sexual activity with a child by a person in a position of trust. She was unanimously found guilty by jurors.