Rebecca Joynes: Teacher who had sex with two schoolboys jailed for six-and-a-half years

A teacher found guilty of having sex with two schoolboys broke down in tears as she was jailed for six-and-a-half years – as one of the teenagers told how he was “coerced, controlled, manipulated” and “sexually abused” by the woman.

Rebecca Joynes, 30, groomed her victims from the age of 15 and had a child with one of the teenagers, Manchester Crown Court heard.

Jurors heard Joynes joined their high school in 2018 as part of the Teach First recruitment scheme after studying for a sports and exercise science degree.

Parents of both boys watched as Joynes, wearing a gold necklace, black padded jacket and with blonde highlights in her hair, visibly shook and cried as she was jailed.

In a victim impact statement, the teenager she had a child with has said he was previously “completely in denial” about the abuse.

The teenager, referred to as boy B, said he felt like he had “betrayed someone I love” when he gave evidence against her.

He continued: “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.”

The boy, who says he left school with straight As, said the abuse “tore my family apart” as they struggled to come to terms with what had happened.

‘Breathtaking arrogance’

He continued: “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.”

Passing sentence, Judge Kate Cornell told Joynes: “There is a breathtaking arrogance in your conduct.

“You were the adult.

“You were the person in control, the person who should have known better and entrusted by the school and the boys and by their parents of caring for their sons.

“Instead, you abused that position of trust and exploited the privileged role for your own sexual gratification.”

Joynes, a former childhood gymnast, had experienced a messy break-up after a nine-year relationship, struggled during the COVID pandemic, and was lonely when she became “flattered” by the attention of boys at the school, her trial heard.

Pupils would refer to Joynes as “Bunda [slang for bottom] Becky”, the court was told.

Both of the boys she had sex with sent her flirty messages on Snapchat and hid them from their parents.

Joynes was already on police bail for sexual activity with the first teenager, referred to as boy A, and suspended from her job when she began having sex with the second teenager, boy B.

She told the jury she had ruined her “dream job” with stupid “mistakes” by meeting up with the two teenagers and having them back at her flat.

Joynes denied any sexual activity with boy A ever took place and claimed that sexual activity with boy B only began after he had left school and she had been dismissed from her job, so no offence had been committed because she was no longer in a position of authority.

However, she was found guilty of six counts of engaging in sexual activity with a child, including two while being a person in a position of trust, by a jury in May following a trial.

‘Sexual predator’

Following her conviction, Jane Wilson, senior Crown Prosecution Service prosecutor described Joynes as a “sexual predator”.

Boy A had gotten Joynes’ mobile number after she gave him all but one of the digits as a maths problem-solving exercise in which he had to work out the final digit.

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

Boy A lied to his mother that he was staying at a friend’s house to play computer games after school finished on a Friday, but instead Joynes picked him up near his home in her Audi A1, took him to Manchester’s Trafford Centre and bought him a £350 Gucci belt.

Back at her flat in Salford Quays, they kissed and then had sex twice, with Joynes telling the boy: “No one had better find out.”

The next day the boy’s mother noticed a love-bite on her son’s neck and by Monday morning rumours were circulating.

Boy A’s distraught mother stormed into the school reception as police were called in.

Joynes was suspended from her job and warned not to have no unsupervised contact with anyone under 18 as police investigated.

However, she then began a relationship with boy B.

The teenager said sexual activity with Joynes began when he was 15, with kissing and full sex when he was 16 – and still a pupil.

He lied to his parents that he was off to watch a Manchester United match but instead went to Joynes’s apartment, where he lost his virginity to the teacher.

Boy B said Joynes had told him she could not have a baby and they had unprotected sex, but in fact she later discovered she was pregnant.

‘Best Dad’

He later told officers he saw the relationship as “friends with benefits” but Joynes became jealous and controlling.

The day before she was arrested for a second time, Joynes invited him to her flat for a “date night” involving an Ann Summers scratchcard of sexual activities, rose petals and “surprises,” the court heard.

At the end it was a baby grow, saying, “Best Dad” on the front.

“I was like, ‘What the f***!'” boy B told police.

She gave birth to their son in early 2024, but the child was taken away from her within 24 hours.

During the trial, Joynes appeared in court with a pink baby’s bonnet visibly tucked into her trousers belonging to the child she had with boy B.

Joynes wept as she told jurors the baby was taken away from her hours after giving birth and she now has only limited access, three times a week.

But prosecutor Joe Allman told the jury in his closing speech: “That was a pretty naked attempt to garner your sympathy.”