A 16-year-old student who allegedly had a sexual relationship with a female PE teacher was almost caught spanking her bottom by another teacher at school, a court heard today.
Bronwen James, 30, is accused of having sex with the student at her home while they watched Wimbledon asked him to call her ‘Miss’ as a ‘fantasy’‘.
She is said to have been ‘flirty’ with the boy and invited him to her home for sex four times.
The schoolboy said he spent time alone with James on the school grounds while they allegedly slept together.
The boy told jurors he helped James put away gym equipment after class and slapped her buttocks.
Moments later, a member of Bitterne Park School’s Senior Leadership Team (SLT) walked around the corner, according to the boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons.
The GCSE student also said he comforted her as he cried after her boyfriend broke up with her.
The teacher is on trial at Winchester Crown Court accused of four counts of sexual activity with the teenager, which she denies. She claims the boy was ‘hounded’ by another student to make the allegations against her.
Bronwen James, 30, is accused of having sex with the student at her home while they watched Wimbledon and asking him to call her ‘Miss’ as a ‘fantasy’
James is said to have been ‘flirty’ with the boy and invited him to her home for sex four times
Bronwen James pictured at Salisbury Magistrates Court accused of a string of child abuse
Giving evidence in court today, the boy said that as part of the ‘flirting’ between the two, he hit her ‘on the bum’ but was almost caught by a member of the school’s SLT.
He said, ‘If he had done that [seen the slap] then we wouldn’t be here.
‘He walked around the corner and saw us together. He didn’t see that. He was an SLT teacher.”
He later added, “One time she came and cried because her boyfriend broke up with her. It was one time.’
The boy was repeatedly questioned about apparent inconsistencies in his story, but claimed the pair had sex at her home after she picked him up while she was his gym teacher.
Heather Stangoe, defending James, pointed out inconsistencies in the alleged victim’s account of watching Wimbledon, to which he replied: ‘I must have just got the details wrong.
‘It’s been a long time. I can’t really remember.’
When asked about other details in his police interview, he said: “It was a long interview. I must have just passed by. It wasn’t really important to me.
The teacher is on trial at Winchester Crown Court charged with four counts of sexual activity with a child by a person in a position of trust, which she denies
‘I shouldn’t have guessed. I specifically said I don’t remember.’
Ms. Stangoe wondered how sure he was because he repeatedly used the phrase “I think,” and then said, “I’m sure.” It involves an 18-year-old boy talking to the police. I was shy and nervous and I said, “I think, I think.”
‘But I’m convinced it happened. I say ‘I think’ when I’m in a nervous situation. I’m just nervous when I talk.”
When asked what they did after sex, he said they just “cuddled and talked about life.”
The court previously heard that James allegedly organized meetings on Snapchat with the pupil from Bitterne Park School in Southampton and picked him up so they could kiss in the car as part of their ‘sexually charged relationship’.
The court also heard she told him she ‘loved him’ and ‘wanted to move with him’.
The boy previously told the court he felt ‘taken care of’ by James, but at the time thought it was ‘amazing’ and made him feel like he was living ‘a teenage boy’s dream’.
In the police interview footage played in court, the boy claimed James liked him to call her ‘miss’ when they were alone together.
At the time of the alleged offences, she was teaching at Bitterne Park School in Southampton
“I always called her ‘Miss’, I don’t know why, I think it was her little imagination or something,” he said.
He told the court: ‘I was just enjoying it while it was happening. It was such a strange time in my life. I can’t really remember everything that happened and when it happened.’
In his video interview with police, he said they “always flirted during classes” before meeting in her car.
He said that the next day she came up to him in class and asked him in a “flirtatious” manner, “Where were you last night?”
The boy said they had sex at her home, adding: ‘At the time I was overwhelmed. It was great, but looking back on it now, it was wrong.”
Describing the first time at her home, he said, “She came over to me on the couch, with her head in my lap, watching TV, her dog was there too, just relaxing, and then I leaned in for a kiss.”
‘We were kissing, then it went further, I said “Shall we go upstairs?”, she said “yes” and we had sex. She got naked and I got naked and that’s how it went.’
The boy added that James, who he described as ‘quite attractive’, would give him vapes in class during his courses.
He also described how James told him she loved him on the phone as she stood outside a nightclub with other teachers at her farewell party. He added, “I thought she cared about me.”
James was teaching PE at Bitterne Park School in Southampton at the time of the alleged offences.
The trial continues next week.
