Teacher who sexually abused two schoolboys jailed

Rebecca Joynes was jailed for six-and-a-half years

A teacher who sexually abused two schoolboys and became pregnant by one of them has been jailed.

Rebecca Joynes groomed both boys from the age of 15, first exchanging messages 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 had come out of a nine-year relationship and was "flattered" by the attention of teenage schoolboys.

Neither teenager - known as Boy A and Boy B throughout the trial - can be identified due to their age.

'Flirtatious'

Joynes gave birth to Boy B's baby in early 2024, with the child being taken away from her within 24 hours.

In a victim impact statement, Boy B said "one of the hardest things" was not being told anything about the baby.

He added: "I struggled to come to terms with my abuse, I was completely in denial."

During the trial, he said he felt he had "betrayed someone I love and done wrong by giving evidence" but had since realised "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 child."

At the sentencing hearing, the 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 Joynes would "laugh off" inappropriate comments instead of shutting down the behaviour.

She gave Boy A all but one of the digits of her mobile phone number as a maths problem-solving exercise in which he had to work out the final digit.

They then connected on Snapchat and he sent her flirtatious texts, with the pair agreeing to meet in secret.

Boy A lied to his mother that he was staying at a friend's house after school but instead Joynes picked him up and took him to the Trafford Centre, where she bought him a £350 Gucci belt.

Judge Cornell said CCTV footage of Joynes buying the belt showed that "your flirtatious body language and eye contact could hardly be a clearer indication of grooming behaviour".

Back at her flat Joynes had sex twice with Boy A.

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

The court heard she stormed into school reception as police were called in about the case.

Joynes was then bailed on condition she would have no unsupervised contact with anyone under 18.

She told the trial she then moved back to her parents in Wirral after having a "breakdown" and she was at a low point when Boy B messaged her on Snapchat.

He later told police they regularly had unprotected sex at her Salford Quays flat and that Joynes had told him she could not become pregnant.

Joynes was arrested for breaking bail conditions and spent five months in custody until she was bailed in November last year.

Joynes hid under a coat as she arrived at Manchester Crown Court to be sentenced

Boy B said in his statement there had been a "massive mental toll" on him and his family.

He said he had been told by social services that Joynes had refused to let them update him about the baby's due date, gender or health.

"The thought of not being able to see my child was heartbreaking,” he added.

Judge Cornell said Joynes was a "high achiever" who had thrown her career away and had her baby taken away from her through her own actions.

"You felt buoyed and boosted by their attention," she added.

"There's no real insight from you, you continue to deny the offences and have been silent on the distressing impact on these boys."

Joynes was found guilty at an earlier court hearing

Det Con Beth Alexander, from Greater Manchester Police, said: "School should be a place of safety for children.

"It’s clear from some of the public commentary when Joynes was convicted that there is still a lack of understanding when it comes to men and boys being the victims of sexual offences.

"They have had to read comments stating others are 'jealous' of them, and that they 'should be happy a young female teacher was interested in them', and this rhetoric is very damaging and dangerous.

"Women can still be paedophiles; this term is not reserved only for men. Men and boys can still be victims of sexual abuse.”

Additional reporting from PA News.