Rebecca Joynes: Teacher who had sex with two schoolboys jailed for six and a half years

Rebecca Joynes.

Rebecca Joynes, a 30-year-old teacher, was sentenced to six and a half years in prison after being found guilty of engaging in sexual activities with two underage boys. The court heard that Joynes, who had a child with one of the teenagers, had groomed her victims from the age of 15.

Joynes had joined their high school in 2018 as part of the Teach First recruitment scheme after earning a degree in sports and exercise science. As she was sentenced, Joynes, adorned in a gold necklace, a black padded jacket, and blonde highlights, broke down in tears.

Judge Kate Cornell, while passing the sentence, rebuked Joynes for her conduct, stating, “You were the adult. You were the person in control, the person who should have known better and entrusted by the school and the boys’ parents to care for their sons. Instead, you abused that position of trust and exploited the privileged role for your own sexual gratification.”

Joynes outside Manchester Crown Court.

Joynes, a former gymnast, had experienced a messy break-up after a nine-year relationship and struggled during the COVID pandemic. She was reportedly flattered by the attention she received from the boys at the school during her period of loneliness.

Both boys, referred to as boy A and boy B, had sent her flirtatious messages on Snapchat, which they kept hidden from their parents. Joynes had taken boy A shopping, bought him a £350 Gucci belt, and later had sex with him twice at her flat in Salford Quays.

While on police bail and suspended from her job, Joynes began a sexual relationship with boy B, which resulted in a pregnancy. Joynes told the jury that she had ruined her “dream job” with “mistakes” by inviting the two teenagers to her flat, but denied having underage sex.

A man helped Rebecca Joynes cover her face as she arrived at court on Thursday.

Following a trial in May, Joynes was found guilty of six counts of engaging in sexual activity with a child, including two while being a person in a position of trust. Jane Wilson, a senior Crown Prosecution Service prosecutor, described Joynes as a “sexual predator” after her conviction.

The court heard that pupils referred to Joynes as “Bunda (slang for bottom) Becky” and she admitted to being “flattered” by the attention of the teenage schoolboys following her messy break-up.