Charges Brought Against Two Teachers for Sexual Activity with Children

The BBC reported on the prosecution of Neil Foden in Mold Crown Court, a school head teacher who is accused of sexually abusing five young girls.

Mr Foden has pleaded not guilty to 20 charges including 13 of sexual activity with a child.

In another press report, Rebecca Joynes, a teacher denied six counts of having sexual activity with a child in Manchester Crown Court. The allegations against her concern two teenage boys whom she met through her job as a teacher at a Greater Manchester school.

Section 9 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 contains the specific crime of “sexual activity with a child”. It does not require the prosecution to prove that the child did not “consent” to the sexual activity. It simply outlaws sexual activity between an adult (18) and a child under 16, where the alleged perpetrator not reasonably believe that the child is 16 or over, or the child is under 13.

However, the 2003 Act goes further and contains an offence, which is specifically aimed at teachers.

Section 16 creates the offence of “abuse of position of trust: sexual activity with a child”. This applies where the victim is under 18 and a position of trust.

A “Position of trust” will cover a whole range of situations, where adults have care of children, and this includes adults in the teaching profession.

One often sees criticisms of the term “sexual activity with a child” used by the media, because it is felt that word “abuse” is the true description of what is alleged. However, the term simply describes the charges brought under the Sexual Offences Act 2003.  The Act only uses the word “abuse” in the context of an abuse of a position of trust. There is no separate crime of “abuse” itself. In the past, some convicted abusers have been known to try and say that their abuse of a child was simply an “affair” and this is then repeated by the media. This is extremely distressing for the survivor and it is simply another way in which abusers try to blur the boundaries that exist between themselves and their victims.

Malcolm Johnson is the head of our Abuse Compensation Department. He can be contacted at malcolm.johnson@limesolicitors.co.uk