A former PE teacher who groomed and sexually abused three students faces a long prison sentence. Bronwen James, 30, was found guilty by a jury and previously admitted offenses relating to two schoolgirls.
James was found guilty on Thursday at Winchester Crown Court of three counts of sexual activity with a child by a person in a position of trust. The charges related to a boy who was 16 at the time of the offences, and she was acquitted of a further charge relating to the same boy.
James, from Chippenham in Wiltshire, has already pleaded guilty to separate offenses against two girls, aged 13 and 14. The offenses involved pupils at schools in Southampton and Wiltshire and included sexual activity with a child, sexual communication with a child and an indecent photograph of a child.
The Crown Prosecution Service described James’ crimes as a “persistent pattern of predatory behavior against children in her care.” Judge James Bromage ordered pre-sentence reports and will impose sentence at a later date, with James due to appear in court on Monday before sentencing.
Classroom messages that turned into insults
The trial heard James began exchanging flirtatious messages with the boy while he was at Bitterne Park School in Southampton, and contact quickly progressed to Snapchat. Prosecutors told jurors the messages showed what they called a “relationship of a sexual nature” between the teacher and student.
The jury was told James later picked up the boy in her car and drove him to Weston Shore where the pair kissed. The next time she took him to her home, where they watched Wimbledon on television and then went to her bedroom where they had sex.
In a police interview read to the court, the boy said James “groomed” him.
He also alleged that she supplied him with vapes hidden in his coursework and asked him to call her “Miss” when they were alone.
The court heard the relationship came to light after another student showed a teacher sexually explicit messages between James and the boy.
Prosecutor Edward Culver told jurors the boy was saved in James’ phone as “number 8”.
“She was not only unprofessional and familiar, but also did not respect any boundaries, using her position to engage in a sexual relationship with one of her young students,” Culver said.
Early warning of contact with student
The court also heard concerns about James’ behavior dated back several years. While teaching at private college Seaford in West Sussex, she received a formal warning after giving a student her personal mobile number, a warning that did not stop her subsequent teaching career.
Bethany Adams, a CPS prosecutor, said James “was tasked with teaching and protecting children” but instead used that position to “groom and sexually abuse three students.”
She said James “manipulated her victims with calculated precision, using her position of power to isolate them and normalize violence”, adding that this was “not an error in judgement” but a deliberate pattern of offending.
Adams praised the “courage” of the three teenagers who came forward, saying their testimony “played an important role in securing this verdict.” She said she hoped the verdicts would bring them and their families “some measure of justice.”
James’ defense team acknowledged in court that she likely faces a significant prison sentence when she is sentenced later this year.