Teacher 'regrets' sex with schoolboy, 15, after telling him 'age is just a number'

6 April 2022, 18:57 | Updated: 6 April 2022, 19:05

A teaching assistant who told a 15-year-old schoolboy that "age is just a number" before having sex with him is said to have told friends she "bitterly regrets" seducing the teenager.

Rebecca Williams, 21, a teaching assistant in north Wales, began messaging the 15-year-old online before driving him to her home in Criccieth, Gwynedd, on a weekend.

She was spared jail last week after admitting two counts of sexual activity with the boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, and abusing a position of trust.

She was given a 12-month suspended prison sentence and told to pay £576 in costs and to register as a sex offender for ten years.

She will not be allowed to work with children again, and Judge Nicola Saffman said there had been "grooming" in the case, adding that some of the messages, which were sent on school grounds, were an "aggravating feature".

Her defence said she has a new job outside of education and was getting help for mental health.

A close friend of Williams, who asked not to be identified, told The Sun: "Becky knows what she did was wrong and she bitterly regrets what happened now.

Read more: Teaching assistant had sex with boy, 15, and told him 'age is just a number'

"She wishes she could turn the clock back but she knows she can’t. She is truly sorry for what she did."

The source added "she feels she has let herself and her community down".

Mold Crown Court heard Williams told the boy "age is just a number" before seducing him and twice having sex with him at her home.

The 21-year-old asked to meet up again and they did so, but after she wanted more of a relationship the boy blocked her on messaging apps.

Rumours of the relationship broke out around the school and the headteacher questioned Williams directly about the information.

She denied anything untoward had gone on, Richard Edwards, prosecuting, said.

Police and social services were contacted, and the boy admitted that he had sex with Williams.

She was arrested by officers and confirmed what had happened.

Jemma Gordon, defending, said Williams had been quizzed early last year and confessed. But a postal requisition for the case was only sent in January.

Williams had a new job in construction, working all over the country, and was doing well. She was also receiving help for her mental health.

She was described in a pre-sentence report as “a low risk of re-offending.”