Female teacher ‘exploited’ role to have sexual relationships with two boys, court hears
Sally-Anne Bowen, 65, allegedly entered into sexual relationships with both boys in the late 1980s, when they were around 14 to 15 and she was in her mid-twenties.
A teacher accused of having sexual relationships with two pupils in the late 1980s “exploited” her position for “her own sexual gratification”, a court has heard.
Listen to this article
Sally-Anne Bowen, 65, is on trial at Harrow Crown Court accused of eight counts of indecent assault against two boys, who cannot be named for legal reasons.
She is alleged to have entered into sexual relationships with both boys in the late 1980s, when they were around 14 to 15 and she was in her mid-twenties, the court heard.
Bowen, who denies the charges, taught at Christ’s College school in Finchley, north London, when the offences are alleged to have taken place.
The teacher, of Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, kissed one of the boys on multiple occasions and had sex with the other “about 20 or 30 times”, jurors heard.
Prosecutor Madeleine Wolfe said: “The prosecution do not suggest that Sally-Anne Bowen forced herself on either boy, and accept that, viewed superficially, they may have appeared to have been willing to participate in the sexual acts with Miss Bowen.
Read more: 'Intimidating' female sailor who sexually assaulted four shipmates kicked out of Royal Navy
Read more: Female teacher who preyed on boy, aged 9, found guilty of gross indecency
“By flirting with them, by sexualising her relationships with them and by encouraging them to engage in sexual conduct with her, she exploited that position for her own sexual gratification.”
The first complainant told police Bowen made him feel “special” by spending lunchtimes with him in a cafe near the school, the court heard.
Ms Wolfe said: “As far as (he) was concerned, as their relationship evolved both physically and emotionally, he looked on her as his girlfriend and felt that he had fallen in love with her.”
Over a period of several months, the boy regularly visited Bowen at her home and the two had sex, jurors were told.
The boy’s mother, having grown suspicious of his relationship with Bowen, raised her concerns with the school.
She was told Bowen no longer worked at the school, but “wasn’t given any explanation as to why that was”, Ms Wolfe said.
Bowen told the boy she was moving to Israel to stay in a kibbutz, leaving him “completely lost” and “heartbroken”, she added.
The second complainant also recalls spending lunchtimes in the cafe with Bowen, the court heard.
Jurors were told he recalls being “goaded” into kissing Bowen by the other boys and remembers touching her breasts while they were sat in the cafe.
On several occasions, Ms Wolfe added, the “besotted” boy walked the teacher home and the two kissed before parting ways.
“The prosecution suggests that this sexual behaviour towards a pupil was something that Sally-Anne Bowen should have put a stop to and it was an indecent assault on her behalf,” Ms Wolfe said.
She told jurors: “Young as she was, she was not their peer, and she was not entitled to treat them as if they were adults capable of entering into sexual relationships with her.
“She was a teacher, entrusted with the care and welfare of pupils, and the prosecution say she abused that trust for her own sexual gratification.”
“The issue in this case is not whether these boys appeared flattered, willing or besotted, as she describes it at the time,” Ms Wolfe added.
“It is whether Sally-Anne Bowen, knowing her position and their vulnerability, crossed the boundaries that existed to protect them at that school in the 1980s.”
The trial continues.