A teacher who had sex with two students and became pregnant by one of them has been arrested.
Rebecca Joynes groomed the two boys from the age of 15, first messaging each other 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 cried and shook in the dock as she 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 attention from teenagers.
Neither of the teenagers – known as Boy A and Boy B during the trial – can be identified due to their age.
‘Flirtatious’
Joynes gave birth to Boy B’s baby in early 2024, and the child was taken from her within 24 hours.
In a victim impact statement, Boy B said “one of the hardest things” was not knowing anything about the baby.
He added: “I struggled to accept my abuse, I was completely in denial.”
During the trial, he said he felt he had “betrayed someone I love and done something wrong by giving evidence” but has since realized “the full extent” of the abuse and “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 son.”
At the sentencing hearing, Judge Kate Cornell told Joynes: “You were the adult, the person in control.
“You should have known better. You failed to enforce the boundaries of proper conduct, but deliberately transgressed them.”
The trial heard that Joynes would “laugh off” inappropriate comments rather than end the behavior.
She gave Boy A all but one of the digits of her cell phone number as a math problem-solving exercise in which he had to calculate the final digit.
They then connected on Snapchat and he sent her flirtatious messages, with the two agreeing to meet in secret.
Boy A lied to his mother saying he was staying at a friend’s house after school, but instead Joynes picked him up and took him to the Trafford Center where he bought him a £350 Gucci belt.
Judge Cornell said CCTV footage of Joynes purchasing the belt showed that “her seductive body language and eye contact could hardly be a clearer indication of grooming behaviour”.
Back at the apartment, Joynes had sex with Boy A twice.
The next day, the boy’s mother noticed a bite on her son’s neck, which he considered “nothing”.
The court heard she broke into the school reception when police were called to the case.
Joynes was then released on bail with the condition that she have no unsupervised contact with anyone under the age of 18.
She told the trial that she returned to her parents’ home in Wirral after having a “breakdown” and that she was having a difficult time when Boy B messaged her on Snapchat.
He later told police they regularly had unprotected sex at his flat in Salford Quays and that Joynes had told him she could not get pregnant.
Joynes was arrested for breaking her bail conditions and spent five months in custody before being released on bail in November last year.
Boy B said in his statement that there had been a “huge mental impact” on him and his family.
He said he was told by social services that Joynes refused to let them update him on the baby’s due date, sex or health.
“The thought of not being able to see my son was heartbreaking,” he added.
Judge Cornell said Joynes was a “high achiever” who threw away her career and had her son taken from her through her own actions.
“You felt encouraged and buoyed by their attention,” she added.
“There is no real insight on your part, you continue to deny the offenses and remain silent about the distressing impact on these boys.”
‘Harmful and dangerous’
Det Con Beth Alexander, of Greater Manchester Police, said: “School should be a safe place for children.
“It is clear from some public comments when Joynes was sentenced that there is still a lack of understanding when it comes to men and boys being victims of sexual crimes.
“They have had to read comments stating that others are ‘jealous’ of them and that they ‘should be happy that a young teacher is interested in them,’ and this rhetoric is very harmful and dangerous.
“Women can still be pedophiles; this term is not just reserved for men. Men and boys can still be victims of sexual abuse.”
Additional reporting by PA News.
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