Schoolboy victim of jailed teacher: ‘Because of my gender this is seen as a lesser crime’

The teenager who fathered a child by teacher Rebecca Joynes has told a court he had loved her, but now realises the damage she has done to him.

The youth, identified only as Boy B and now aged 18, was groomed from the age of 15 by Joynes during a secret relationship while he was still at school.

Joynes told him she could not get pregnant, but later revealed she was carrying his child.

Joynes, 30, has been sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison after she was found guilty by a jury at Manchester Crown Court in May of six sex offences involving two boys, following a two-week trial.

Neither boy can be identified. But in a victim impact statement, Boy B said: “I struggled to come to terms with my abuse, I was completely in denial. I subsequently held back and did not fully open up to people. For reference, Rebecca was in my head that much.

“I would argue until I was blue in the face protecting her and would not hear a bad word against her. I felt as though I had betrayed someone I love and had done wrong by giving evidence. I felt a large sense of guilt for a long time.

“I questioned if I was right to give statements about the woman who was carrying my child. Since then I have replayed a lot of things in my head, and spoken to a lot of people, and it has made me realise the full extent of the abuse carried out on me and the tactics that were used to do so.”

The boy went on to say that he was “coerced, controlled, manipulated, sexually abused, and mentally abused”.

“It is very upsetting that this has happened to me,” he said. “ I’ve had little or no support from any organisations. I am only just finding help through self-referrals and help from a family support worker.

“The months after the abuse happened to me was a very dark time, I felt backed into a corner. I had just lived a double life for 18 months behind my family’s back.

“This had a massive mental toll over me and my family. It tore my family apart, they struggled to come to terms with the fact they sent me to school, where they believed it to be a safe environment, and this happened as a result. I attended school regularly and left with straight As.

“My parents broke down every day and night trying to get me to speak, I held many things back. I thought I would be better off dealing with things alone, as it is a rare case and not very relatable to others.

‘The gender inequality I have faced is absurd. I feel that because of my gender this is seen as a lesser crime than it would be vice versa. I have faced many barriers. If it wasn’t through my workplace being supportive through this process, I would be in a very bad situation.”

The boy said that despite him being male, “the mental impact has been the same” as it would have been for a female victim of abuse.

“Furthermore the lack of provision of services has been highlighted as I have been let down in my experience,” he added.

“I have been told time after time, that now I am 18, I will have to wait years for support, as I am now an adult. The grooming started at 15 years of age, and I have struggled to find any services which support males of my age with sexual abuse counselling and support. There are a lot for young females and children though.

“I feel like sometimes these crimes go unnoticed due to men bottling things up: denial, shame, fear and the social stigma attached to this kind of abuse against males. It’s often too hard to understand and something I have struggled to reason with due to how it’s perceived by others. I hope there is an increase in these services in the future.”

Exclusion from pregnancy ‘one of hardest things’

“One of the hardest things I had to deal with in this time was not being able to be involved in the pregnancy. Social services contacted me in October and told me that Rebecca had refused to let them update me about anything including due date, gender, health updates. The thought of not being able to see my child was heartbreaking.

“Another extremely difficult thing I had to deal with was when Rebecca was released on bail in November. I really struggled with this and wondered how my abuser could be walking free. I had panic attacks shortly after receiving the news.

“I struggle to understand how Rebecca still takes no responsibility for the crimes she committed and has even gone as far as throwing false accusations against me in the family court in a bid to keep me away from my child.

“I’ve had to to go through the family court process the last few months which has been emotionally challenging and I have come to accept this will be an ongoing thing and part of my future.

“I have never been in trouble in my life and attending court is very intimidating. I have struggled with many things surrounding my child, and my child often comes home smelling of her mum. That completely freaks me out and brings back memories and experiences.

He added: “I now also really struggle with the idea of going into another relationship, due to the negative experience I have gone through with Rebecca. Ultimately, I will forever be Rebecca‘s victim and forever linked to her through our child.”