Who is the Scottish school teacher who got pregnant by one of her students while out on bail for abusing another one?

This article describes child sexual abuse. Please read with caution.

In May 2024, Rebecca Joynes, a 30-year-old Scottish school teacher, was on trial for sexually abusing two male students, known as Boy and B. Boy B is the father of her child, and Joynes got pregnant by Boy B while out on bail for abusing the other teenager.

Joynes taught mathematics in the Manchester City area when her relationship with Boy A began around 2021, when he was 15 years old. Joynes later said she had ended a 9-year relationship during the U.K. COVID lockdown, and had emotionally struggled during that period, the BBC reported. Boy A and Boy B are not identified in the press for legal reasons.

Joynes was suspended from work and ordered to have no contact with anyone under age 18 when Joynes’ sexual relationship with Boy A was discovered. But she reportedly got in touch with Boy B via Snapchat around that same time, and their relationship became sexual when he turned 16. Boy B later testified that Joynes told him she couldn’t get pregnant because of a medical condition, but she did.

Boy B knew “how wrong” the relationship was

In his testimony at Rebecca Joynes’ trial, Boy B said he knew “how wrong” their relationship was. He told Joynes she needed help, and looking back, he admitted he loved her and thought she loved him, but felt he had been mentally and emotionally abused. “I kind of think she was playing a game with me,” Boy B said in court.

According to the BBC, Joynes described her relationship with Boy B as “toxic.” Referring to Boy A, she said, “As a teacher, I should never have engaged in any form of contact. I caved into the attention he was giving me. I struggled massively over the COVID period. I was obviously lonely and I liked the attention at the time.”

Joynes admitted she she had a relationship with each boy, but denied she had sex with the teenagers and has pleaded not guilty to six charges of sexual activity with minors. Joynes reportedly showed up to court arm-in-arm with her father. A baby bonnet was visibly tucked into her pants but Joynes denied she used the bonnet to gain sympathy.

Joynes had Boy. B’s baby, a daughter, and told the court it was taken away from her a day after she was born. She said she was allowed to visit the baby for a few hours each week. As of this report, Joynes’ trial was ongoing.

If you know someone suffering from sexual violence, contact RAINN or the National Sexual Abuse Telephone Hotline at 1-800-656-4673.