A former teacher has been convicted of sexual offenses involving a schoolboy at a Southampton school following a trial at Winchester Crown Court.
Bronwen James, 30, of Chippenham, was found guilty of three counts of sexual activity with a pupil at Bitterne Park School. Jurors returned their verdict after deliberating for 12 hours. The jury found her not guilty on a fourth count of sexual activity.
James, who previously taught PE at both Bitterne Park School and Hardenhuish School in Chippenham, stood with her head bowed and displayed no emotion as the verdicts were delivered.
The court heard that the relationship began with flirting in the classroom. The situation escalated when the pair began exchanging messages via Snapchat, which eventually led to James driving the student to Weston Shore in Southampton to kiss in her car. The prosecution detailed how the relationship moved to the defendant’s home, where the two spent time together before engaging in sexual activity.
Prosecutor Edward Culver told the court that the school was alerted to the illicit relationship after another student discovered text messages between the pair. These messages reportedly revealed a “sexually-charged relationship,” with the student saved in the teacher’s phone under the alias “number 8.” The prosecution explained that this was a reference to him being the eighth man she had been with.
“She acted not only in an unprofessional and overfamiliar way, but failed to recognise any boundaries, exploiting her position to engage in sexual activity with one of her young students,” Mr. Culver stated during the proceedings.
In a police interview played to the court, the teenager described the experience as a form of grooming. “I thought this was great, any teenage boy’s dream, but I think it was wrong, at the time I wasn’t thinking that,” he told investigators. The student further alleged that James, whom he considered “quite attractive,” would secretly pass him vapes hidden in his coursework and insisted that he refer to her as “Miss” whenever they were alone. He described the demand as her “little fantasy.”
Following the conclusion of the trial, James has been remanded into custody. She is expected to return to Winchester Crown Court this coming Monday, where a date for her sentencing will be established.
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