Straight-A student groomed by sex predator teacher says he was in ‘denial’ over abuse

A straight-A pupil groomed for sex by a school teacher has shared the extent of the abuse suffered and the “heartbreak” of not being able to see the child they had together.

Rebecca Joynes, 30, was jailed for six-and-a-half years after being found guilty of six counts of sexual activity with children after sleeping with one pupil before falling pregnant by a second while on police bail.

A jury heard Joynes, who taught at a school in Greater Manchester, had entered in flirty exchanges on Snapchat with the boys after she had undegone a messy break-up after a nine-year relationship.

With the first boy, Boy A, she bought him a Gucci belt at the Trafford Centre before having sex at her apartment.

Then, despite arrest and suspension from her job, she targeted a second child, Boy B, who said sexual activity started when he was 15, before full sex when he was 16 and still a pupil.

She became pregnant with the boy and gave birth earlier this year, but the child was taken away from her within 24 hours.

Following Joynes’ sentencing at Manchester Crown Court on Thursday, Greater Manchester Police released a victim impact statement read out in court by Boy B that revealed the emotional toll of the abuse.

It read: “I struggled to come to terms with my abuse, I was completely in denial. I subsequently held back and did not fully open up to people.

“For reference, 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 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, controlled, manipulated, sexually abused, and mentally abused. It is very upsetting that this has happened to me. 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. I attended school regularly and left with straight As.

“My parents broke down every day and night trying to get me to speak, I 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.

“One of the hardest things I had to deal with in this time was not being able to be involved in the pregnancy. Social services contacted me in October and told me that Rebecca had refused to let them update me about anything including, due date, gender, health updates. The thought of not being able to see my child was heartbreaking.

“I now also really struggle with the idea of going into another relationship, due to the negative experience I have gone through with Rebecca. Ultimately, I will forever be Rebecca‘s victim and forever linked to her through our child.”

Joynes was found guilty of six counts of sexual activity - 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.