Convicted sex offender Rebecca Joynes left lasting damage on the school where she worked, it has been claimed.
The former school teacher, 30, was today sentenced to six and a half years in prison at Manchester Crown Court, after being found guilty of six counts of sexual activity with a child, including two when she was a person in a position of trust. Judge Kate Cornell told Joynes there was a “gross breach of trust” and a “significant degree of planning of grooming behaviour”.
Joynes was suspended from her ‘dream job’ at a high school in October 2021 after a report to Childline. She was found guilty of having sex with a 15-year-old boy – known as Boy A – whom she bought a £345 Gucci belt for before taking him back to her apartment. The maths teacher then fell pregnant by a second teenager, 16 – known as Boy B – while on bail for sleeping with the first one.
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Greater Manchester Police)
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PA)
The scandal has reportedly sparked a breakdown in the relationships between other teachers and their pupils, with the secondary school now said to have a “toxic atmosphere”. A number of male students are said to have created an online group calling themselves ‘victims’ of Joynes, and behaviour has allegedly fallen apart in class.
Elsewhere in the school, graffiti in a toilet reads ‘Free Ms Joynes’, according to the Times. Distraught staff members say the teachers are no longer trusted because of her actions. One said: “They completely stopped trusting us.” Despite enjoying good relationships with her colleagues, Joynes is said to have never attended work events or interacted with colleagues “on a personal level”.
An ex-staff member said: “Rebecca never joined. Even the near-retiring teachers would have had a drink.” Instead, Joynes was spotted chatting with female students about fashion during break time and “strutting” down the corridors while they cheered her on. The teachers said with hindsight, this kind of behaviour was “over-friendly”.
Her former colleague has expressed concern over how the school handled the situation. Staff members were only told there had been a serious safeguarding complaint filed and that Joynes had been asked to leave. It was the children who apparently made the allegations known to teachers in class.
They told how pupils’ behaviour quickly deteriorated following the scandal, with students acting as though they were “untouchable”. The former staff member was left “mortified” by parents who were disappointed in their children’s GCSE results and blamed it on the fact that “we have teachers f***ing our kids”. The former staff member said: “It was so mortifying to me.”
Before Joynes’ sordid behaviour was revealed, she was well thought of, and well-liked, by staff and students alike. On World Teachers’ Day, she was given a thank you note from a pupil for helping them with their subject. Now, Joynes faces a future that couldn’t be further from her ‘dream’ teaching career.
Following the guilty verdict in May, Jane Wilson, Senior Crown Prosecutor for CPS North West, said: “Rebecca Joynes is a sexual predator. Joynes was entrusted with the responsibility of teaching and safeguarding children. She abused her position to groom and ultimately sexually exploit schoolboys. Her behaviour has had a lasting impact on them.
“The CPS worked with Greater Manchester Police to build a strong case to put before the jury, including eyewitness testimony, phone evidence showing the messages sent by Joynes and CCTV footage. I would like to thank the victims for supporting the prosecution. Joynes will now face the consequences of her actions.”
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