Rebecca Joynes: School teacher, 30, who got pregnant by pupil found guilty of sex with two boys

A teacher, who got pregnant by one of her pupils while awaiting trial, has been found guilty of four counts of sexual activity with a child, following a two-week trial at Manchester Crown Court.

Rebecca Joynes, 30, was also found guilty of two counts of sexual activity with a child by a person in a position of trust. The maths teacher was already suspended from her high school job and on bail for alleged sexual activity with boy A, 15, when she allegedly began a sexual relationship with the second youngster, boy B, whom she later became pregnant by. Neither teenager can be identified.

Prosecutor Joe Allman accused Joynes of making a "naked attempt to garner sympathy" from the jury by wearing a pink baby bonnet belonging to the kid fathered by boy B, whose virginity she allegedly stole.

Jurors heard that both boys sent Joynes seductive Snapchat messages before boy A went shopping, purchased a £350 Gucci belt, and returned to her flat in Salford Quays, where he claims they had sex, with his sperm being found from her bedsheets by police.

Boy B reports that his sexual activity began at the age of 15, with kissing, followed by complete sex at the age of 16 while still a student. Joynes maintains that no sexual activity occurred with boy A, that a connection formed with boy B while she was suspended from her work and only became sexual after she was fired, and that he had left school at the age of 16, therefore no offence had occurred.

Mr Allman told jurors that the defendant hopes they will view the case differently because she is a woman rather than a man accused of having sex with teenagers. He questioned why indecent Snapchats and comments referring to her as "Bunda Becky" were not promptly "shut down" by the teacher, and whether she was drawn to teenage boys.

Joynes had previously told the jury that she had wrecked her "dream job" with silly "mistakes" by meeting up with the two youngsters and having them back at her flat, but she denied having underage sex.

Joynes admitted that she had recently ended a nine-year relationship, was lonely, and was pleased by the attention. Michael O'Brien, defending, claimed boy A's statements were teenage boy bravado, and boy B chose to "twist the dates" to suggest sex occurred earlier, while he was still in school and 15 years old.

Joynes sobbed as she told jurors that the baby she had with boy B was taken away from her shortly after birth, and she now has only limited access, three times a week. She denies six counts of sexual behaviour with a child, two of which occurred while she held a position of trust.