Wiltshire Teacher Found Guilty of Sexually Abusing Pupils at Multiple Schools
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A teacher has been found guilty of sexually abusing a 16-year-old boy after previously admitting offences against two teenage girls.
Former PE teacher Bronwen James, 30, from Chippenham, Wiltshire, pleaded guilty to nine sexual offences against two teenagers—one a pupil at Bitterne Park School in Southampton and the other at Hardenhuish School in Chippenham. She was subsequently convicted of three counts of sexual activity with a 16-year-old boy from Bitterne Park School.
During the trial, prosecutors described James as someone who "crave[d] attention" and "abused the trust put in her" as a teacher. The jury found her guilty by a majority of 11 to one.
James showed no emotion as the verdict was read out and remained seated while the jury left the courtroom. She was ordered to surrender her passport, placed under electronic monitoring, and will be sentenced on Monday when she will be taken into custody.
The court heard that James had a "flirty" relationship with the boy and communicated with him via Snapchat before they engaged in sexual activity at her house three or four times. The boy testified that he believed James cared about him at the time but now realizes it was "wrong."
James denied all charges, claiming the boy fabricated the allegations to seem "cool."
The nine offences against two girls included six counts of engaging in sexual activity with a child, two counts of engaging in sexual communication with a child, and one count of making indecent images of a child.
"Bronwen James was trusted to educate and protect children—instead, she used that trust to groom and sexually abuse three students," said senior crown prosecutor Bethany Adams. She added that James "manipulated her victims with calculated precision," exploiting her position of authority for "predatory behavior against children in her care."
