A maths teacher accused of having sex with two pupils and having a baby with one of them arrived at court today with a pink baby hat in his hand – after denying that this would ‘win the jury’s sympathy’ to win’.
Rebecca Joynes, 30, bowed her head and clutched the knitted item behind a purple notepad as her father wrapped his arm around his daughter’s waist.
The former teacher arrives at Manchester Crown Court each day of her trial with the baby hat tucked into her trousers.
She denied taking it to gain ‘sympathy’ from the jury – and insisted she had not chosen to take the witness stand out of a desire to ensure they could have it during her questioning to see.
She is on trial accused of having sex with a student before later becoming pregnant with a second. She has denied having a ‘powerful sexual attraction’ to 15-year-old boys.
TODAY: Rebecca Joynes, 30, lowered her head as she arrived at Manchester Crown Court and grabbed the knitted item behind a purple notepad as her father put his arm around his daughter’s waist
YESTERDAY: She has denied ‘gaining’ sympathy from the jury as she stands trial for having sex with two pupils
Yesterday she broke down in tears as she revealed her daughter had been taken from her within 24 hours of her birth.
In a letter read out during her trial for alleged sexual offences, Joynes told the teenager – who she had become pregnant – that she hoped they could ‘keep this going for a while longer’.
Cross-examined for a second day, Joynes accepted the invitation to take the boy back to her luxury apartment when he was 15, but insisted she only felt “sexually attracted” to him after he left school.
She denies deflowering him shortly after he turned 16, and says they slept together for the first time after she was fired as his teacher – when it was no longer against the law.
Joynes also denies having sex with a second 15-year-old from her maths class months earlier – although she admits he spent the night in her luxury flat after she bought him a £345 Gucci belt.
She admitted yesterday that she was ‘ashamed’ of her actions, which she said had ruined her ‘dream job’.
Dressed in a white blouse and black trousers, Joynes continued to display the bonnet as she stood in the witness box at Manchester Crown Court today.
She revealed to the court that her daughter was taken from her within 24 hours of her birth (pictured here arriving at court on Wednesday)
In a letter to one of the teens, Joynes said: ‘Every inch of you is perfect’
When asked about Boy B’s claim that she became “controlling” as their relationship continued, prosecutor Joe Allman read excerpts from a letter Joynes wrote to him after he left school.
In one, she wrote, “Every inch of you is perfect and you’re the only thing I ever dream of.”
She also wrote, “I know we are having a hard time right now and are both extremely stressed, but I really hope we can figure something out to keep this going for a while.”
When asked by Mr. Allman if the letter was part of an attempt to “manipulate” Boy B into keeping him from leaving you, Joynes replied, “No.”
“We were in a relationship, I was in love with him, I was pregnant with his child,” Joynes said.
She added that the letter was written “a year after he left school.”
Mr. Allman told Joynes that she would “insinuate” to Boy B that she would “harm” herself or commit suicide if he ended the relationship, or that “if he did, he would be responsible if you lost the baby ‘.
She rejected the accusation, claiming her words to him had been: “I can’t do this anymore.”
“I did not commit any offense by doing anything,” she added.
‘Things got really hard when I got pregnant.’
Mr Allman told Joynes that at the time of the relationship with Boy B, whom she had taught when he was 15 years old, she was 29 years old, lived in her own flat and drove an Audi.
“Who controlled who?” he asked.
“At that stage, no one was checking on anyone,” Joynes replied.
But he later became “very controlling,” she added.
Earlier, Mr Allman asked her if it was her business that she only felt ‘sexually attracted’ to Boy B from the moment he ‘became legal’.
“Yes,” she replied.
The former teacher – who arrived at court each day of her trial with a pink knitted baby hat tucked into her trousers – broke down in tears as she gave evidence
Joynes arrived at court on Tuesday afternoon and left Manchester Crown Court laughing with her father
When asked if she found him “sexy” when he came to her flat at the ages of 15 and 16 – but before he left school in the summer of 2022 – Joynes insisted he did not.
She has told jurors she was ‘stupid’ to exchange messages with Boy A and invite him to her Salford Quays apartment in October 2021 – but denies his story that they had sex twice.
She said she felt “ashamed” and added: “I had ruined my chances of getting my dream job.”
Joynes admits that by secretly seeing Boy B while awaiting trial on Boy A’s charges, she violated bail conditions that prohibit her from having unsupervised contact with young people under the age of 18.
According to the complaint, the second student – Boy B – said he had unprotected sex with Joynes after she told him she had polycystic ovarian syndrome and was unlikely to become pregnant.
Joynes today denied saying this and told jurors he must have found out she had the condition after opening up to a student about her diagnosis at the age of 18.
Joynes admits to having a sexual relationship with Boy B – which ended when she told him she was pregnant – but insists it only started after he turned 16.
She denies six counts of sexual activity with a child, two of which were in a position of trust.
The process continues.