A former PE teacher accused of having s3x with a 16-year-old pupil allegedly saved him as “number 8” on her phone because he was the eighth person she had slept with, a court has heard.
Bronwen James, 30, is accused of engaging in s3xual activity with the teenager on several occasions after the pair began exchanging messages on Snapchat.
Winchester Crown Court heard that James was working as a PE teacher at Bitterne Park School in Southampton, Hampshire, United Kingdom, when the alleged offences took place. The school became aware of the alleged relationship after another student showed a teacher messages said to have been exchanged between James and the boy.
Edward Culver, prosecuting, told jurors that the messages suggested an inappropriate relationship between the teacher and pupil. “They suggested a s3xually charged relationship, he was named as ‘number 8’ in the messages as a cover, him being the eighth man she had slept with,” Culver told the court. “Her photo was visible on the phone screen.”
The prosecution alleges that James “flirted” with the teenager before accepting his request to add her on Snapchat. After exchanging messages, James allegedly drove the boy to Weston Shore in Southampton, where they parked and kissed inside her car.
The pair are then alleged to have gone to James’ home, where prosecutors say they had s3x. The court heard that similar encounters allegedly took place on three or four occasions. Describing one of the alleged encounters, Culver said: “The tennis was on at Wimbledon. They began watching TV before kissing and touching each other. She took her clothes off and then he took his clothes off.”
The prosecution further alleged that James and the teenager performed s3x acts on each other before having unprotected s3x. Jurors were told that James allegedly sent the boy messages every day in which she said she “loved him” and “wanted to move away” with him. After the allegations emerged, James was questioned by police under caution.
The court heard that she prepared a statement claiming she had received communications from an unknown number, which was subsequently identified as belonging to the teenager. She also allegedly suggested that another student was “putting him up” to making the allegations against her.
Summarising the prosecution’s case, Culver told the jury: “This is a case about a teacher who exploited her position to engage in s3xual activity with one of her students. She flirted with him, exchanged messages with him, took him to her home and she had s3x with him.”
James, of Chippenham, Wiltshire, denies four charges of s3xual activity with the teenager. The allegations have not been proven, and the trial continues.
