Former PE Teacher Denies Sexual Activity With 16 Year Old Student

A PE teacher who is on trial accused of sexual activity with a student informed the police that the boy was “put up” by another student to make the allegations, according to prosecutors.

Bronwen James, 30, of Chippenham in Wiltshire, is charged with four counts of sexual activity with a child by a person in a position of trust. The charges relate to a pupil who was 16 at the time and who attended Bitterne Park School in Southampton, where she worked as a PE teacher, Wiltshire Police said.

Prosecutor Edward Culver informed Winchester Crown Court that James used her position to form a relationship with the student. According to Culver, the two exchanged text messages; she picked the boy up in her car, took him to Weston Shore in Southampton, and later took him to her place.

He informed jurors that the couple engaged in sex three or four times at her house. He said the two were in daily contact by text and that James told the boy that she cared about him. They talked about living together, Culver informed the jury, adding that James told him that she loved him and wanted to leave with him.

According to prosecutors, James kept the boy in her telephone under the name “Number 8,” referred to as a nickname, implying that he was her eighth lover.

The student, who cannot be named legally, told the court he felt James groomed him, although he felt it was a good thing at the time. In a recorded police interview, he said the two flirted during class before meeting outside of school.

James denies having had a sexual relationship with the boy.

As per the Sexual Offenses Act 2003, adults in positions of trust, which include teachers, can be charged for engaging in sexual activities with students aged 16 and 17 even though England’s age of consent is 16.

Wiltshire Police said James previously taught at Hardenhuish School in Chippenham and Bitterne Park School. She appeared at Salisbury Magistrates’ Court last year and was put on conditional bail, as reported by The Independent.

The trial will last for seven days.