Married Girl Guide leader had sex with 15-year-old schoolgirl nearly every day for nearly two years, court hears
- Fiona Bowden, 50, denies 12 charges of assaulting the teenage girl in the 2000s
- A jury at Oxford Crown Court will hand down its verdict on Monday
A female Girl Guide leader had sex with a 15-year-old schoolgirl over the course of almost two years, a court has heard.
Fiona Bowden, 50, is charged with 12 offenses against the girl who had mental health problems.
The facts are said to have taken place in the early 2000s, when the girl was 15 years old.
The jury is expected to begin deliberations on Monday.
Prosecutor John Benson told the jury: ‘This case involves allegations of sexual abuse… between a girl who was fifteen when the abuse began and an adult woman who abused her, who was approximately twelve years older than the girl.
Fiona Bowden, pictured outside Oxford Crown Court, denies six charges of indecency with a child, four charges of sexual activity with a child and two charges of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity
The court heard Bowden’s husband was in the room when she allegedly first attacked the girl
The court heard the girl had suffered mental health problems which apparently stemmed from an incident when she was younger.
The jury was told Bowden gave the girl her telephone number after approaching her for advice about some problems she was experiencing. The prosecutor said this was “on the face of it, a kind and sympathetic gesture.”
Mr Benson said the girl later contacted Bowden.
The court heard Bowden and the victim became close – something evidenced by the Guide’s leader confiding in the girl and saying her marriage to her husband was ‘not good’.
The prosecutor described an evening when Bowden and the girl sat together on a couch and shared a blanket. The defendant’s husband, Michael Bowden, was in the same room but on a different couch.
Mr Benson told the jury that Fiona Bowden began rubbing her foot against the girl.
The court ruled that the contact was sexual in nature and left the girl confused.
Mr Benson said: ‘“That defendant’s first sexual contact with the girl confused her, as you may understand,” the prosecutor told the jury.
“After that incident, the touching became frequent,” he added.
Mr Benson told the jury Bowden believed she loved the teenage girl.
Bowden told the girl about the feelings she had for her and that she loved her. The girl believed this, the court heard.
Mr Benson continued: ‘Sexual intimacy became a regular part of their lives. It became an almost everyday occurrence. The defendant had fallen for this 15-year-old girl.”
The jury is expected to begin returning its verdict at Oxford Crown Court on Monday
The court heard the complainant believed they ‘loved each other’. After a week of no sexual activity, Bowden told the girl that she missed her and wanted to kiss her.
The jury was later told that Bowden and her family had moved from Didcot, Oxfordshire to West Wales, ending interactions between the defendant and the girl.
Bowden, who now lives in Lampeter, West Wales, attended a police interview in Wales on February 24, 2021.
Mr Benson said: ‘She denied ever having a relationship with the girl or that any sexual touching had ever taken place.
“She mentioned that the girl had been upset once and they had stood across from each other and kissed.”
“The defendant said it was ‘a joint decision on the spot’.”
The jury were told the kiss lasted a few seconds and they had pulled away in disbelief that it had happened.
Mr Benson added: ‘That kiss is an illuminating incident.’
Bowden is charged with six counts of indecency with a child, four counts of sexual activity with a child and two counts of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.
The trial continues at Oxford Crown Court on Monday.