Maths teacher Rebecca Joynes, 30, who is accused of sleeping with two of her 15-year-old pupils is trying to seek ‘sympathy’ and painting herself as the ‘victim’ because she is a woman, court hears

A ‘beautiful’ maths teacher accused of having a sexual relationship with two pupils has been accused of seeking ‘sympathy’ and portraying herself as a ‘victim’ because she is a woman, a court heard.

Rebecca Joynes, 30, is alleged to have ‘groomed’ a 15-year-old boy by taking him on a shopping trip and buying him a £345 Gucci belt before they had sex in her apartment.

She subsequently became pregnant after allegedly starting a relationship with a second 15-year-old boy while out on bail on those charges.

Joynes denies that her relationship with the first boy – known as Boy A – ever became sexual and claims she only had sex with the second boy, Boy B, after he turned 16 and she was fired – meaning she was no more. in a position of trust.

She is standing trial at Manchester Crown Court, where the jury heard final speeches from the prosecution and defense today.

She revealed to the court that her baby was taken from her within 24 hours of her birth (pictured here as she arrived at court on Wednesday)

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

Joe Allman, the prosecutor, said Joynes’ tears in court and the display of a pink baby hat, which she has worn down the front of her pants every day of her life, were an attempt to gain “sympathy” from the jury. to win.

And he accused her of ‘gaslighting’ – a claim she made about the two schoolboys.

“One of the very first things her honor said to you was that there is no place for sympathy in these proceedings,” he said.

“You’re here to clinically analyze the evidence.”

He added: ‘It was a pretty naked attempt to gain your sympathy.’

The court previously heard how legal proceedings led to Joynes ‘removing’ her baby 24 hours after her birth.

Police launched an investigation after rumors spread at her school and she was subsequently arrested and suspended in October 2021 and dismissed in July 2022.

She has denied “gaining” sympathy from the jury while she is on trial for having sex with two students

“Who is being gaslighted and who is doing the gaslighting?” he asked.

He said: ‘Is it possible that her approach to this procedure is that she hopes you will treat her differently because she is a woman and not a man in the same situation.’

Mr Allman said Joynes hoped she would be treated ‘very differently’ and that they would see the evidence ‘differently’ because she is a woman and not a man in the same situation.

“We must ask ourselves in the cold light of day whether Miss Joynes and those acting on her behalf would have appealed to your sympathy in this way if she had been a thirty-year-old man named Robert Joynes?” he asked.

He also asked whether the two boys would have been “discredited in the same way in an attempt to discredit them” if they had been two girls of the same age.

“Would the defense on behalf of Ms. Joynes – in our theoretical scenario on behalf of Mr. Joynes – have suggested to you that it was the girls who wanted it to happen?” he asked.

“It just couldn’t have had the same text in the questions because it would have been quite obscene.”

He said it was easy to forget that Joynes was a grown-up, adult teacher, he said, and that they were two teenage children, and “that’s how she would like you to view this case.”

“So she almost becomes the victim and the boys become the perpetrators,” he said.

Police launched an investigation after rumors spread around her school and she was subsequently arrested and suspended in October 2021 and fired in July 2022.

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 a person in a position of trust.

The process continues.