'Hysterical' mother tells court of moment she discovered maths teacher 'groomed' and 'had sex with her underage son'
9 May 2024, 16:37 | Updated: 9 May 2024, 16:39
The mother of an underage pupil has told of the moment she discovered her son was being 'groomed' by his maths teacher before allegedly being taken back to her apartment for sex.
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Rebecca Joynes, 30, is on trial accused of six counts of engaging in sexual activity with a child, including two while being a person in a position of trust.
The allegations - which she denies - relate to her relationship with two students whilst a teacher at a Greater Manchester School, including one whom she fell pregnant with while awaiting trial on bail.
A statement from the mother of Boy A - neither of whom can be named for legal reasons - was today read out in court where she explained the moment she discovered the alleged grooming, leaving her "absolutely furious" and reduced to tears.
The court also heard how the 15-year-old denied he "made up" allegations against Joynes because she rejected his advances during a cross-examination at Manchester Crown Court today.
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It comes after the court heard yesterday that Joynes picked up Boy A after school in 2021 before driving him to the Trafford Centre where she bought him a £345 belt at Selfridges. She is then accused of taking him back to her flat where they had sex twice.
The mother, in her statement to the court, said on the day in question her son came home from school and changed out of his uniform before packing an overnight bag. He told her that he was staying at his best friend's house.
She later spoke to him where the Boy A told her he was playing Fifa with his friend.
Boy A told police that he had actually arranged to meet Joynes who took him back to her flat at Salford Quays, where they twice had sex, with the teacher warning him: "No one had better find out".
The following day the mother explained that she noticed a mark on her son's neck which "looked like a love bite".
"I said, 'What's that mark on your neck?'" his mother said.
"He said, 'Oh nothing, I don't know.'
On the following Monday the mother then received a call from her son's school telling her that an "allegation" had been made through an anonymous report through Childline that involved a teacher and her son.
The boy was then called out of class but initially denied the claims to his mother and police, telling them: "It was just a stupid conversation in group chats that got out of hand" and "friends having banter".
His mother replied: "You could have cost this girl her career now!"
She left the school with her son, who was advised by police to stay off social media as rumours were swirling.
The mother than returned home to discover a call from the mother of the boy her son had supposedly been staying at, the night he was allegedly with Joynes.
"I think I owe you an apology," she was told, before confessing Boy A had not been staying with her son at her house - and that she had picked him up from an address in Salford the day after that belonged to the teacher.
Boy A's mother's then returned to the school, as her statement continued" "I was upset and crying at this point. Crying my eyes out."
Det Con James Partington, of Greater Manchester Police (GMP), said in his statement, he was still at the school as Boy A's mother returned.
"She entered the school in tears," he said. "She stormed into reception and I would describe her as in a panic and distraught."
A short time before the alleged offence, he had come and said to her, "My teacher is well fit Mum. Everyone says she's well fit.'
"I just laughed it off," his mother said in her statement. "I thought it was typical teenage boys' comment."
Joynes was later suspended from school as police investigated and she was bailed on condition she have no unsupervised contact with anyone under 18.
But it later emerged that Joynes had been in a long-term sexual relationship with another teenage boy she had been in contact with while suspended.
The youngster is the father of Joynes's young daughter. The defendant claims sexual activity with Boy B did not start until he turned 16.
Joynes denies two counts of sexual activity with Boy A, two counts of sexual activity with Boy B and two counts of sexual activity with Boy B while being a person in a position of trust. The trial continues.
