A jury has been told that allegations a chemistry teacher had a sexual relationship with a teenage pupil were “not a schoolboy fantasy”. Sally-Anne Bowen, 65, is accused of indecently assaulting two boys aged around 14 to 15 while she was in her mid-20s teaching at Christ’s College in Finchley, north London.
Prosecution closing speech
Prosecutor Madeleine Wolfe told jurors during her closing speech at Harrow Crown Court that one alleged victim's evidence had “a real visceral quality to it”, adding: “There can be no doubt that there was a lasting impact on him.”
“It's not a schoolboy fantasy, is it?” Wolfe said. “He's started this account in 2014 – this has real-life implications for him, remained with him for decades.”
The first alleged victim previously told the court that Bowen had “drummed” it into him that he was not allowed to tell anybody about their relationship and that he felt compelled to “protect” her. It was not until he became a parent himself that he began to realise what had happened to him, Ms Wolfe told jurors.
Alleged relationship details
One of Bowen's pupils alleged he had sex with her “about 20 or 30 times” over several months in the late 1980s. The pupil also alleged he would visit Bowen at her home, considered her to be his girlfriend, and had fallen in love with her.
“It became clear that when she (Bowen) chose him, that when she isolated him into that relationship, it was not in fact a loving relationship – it was nothing but exploitation, frankly,” Ms Wolfe said. “That infuriated him, that there was a general view that because he was a male, he was a lucky boy.”
Defence and medical evidence
Bowen previously described the man's account as “total fabrication” and “the workings of a fantasy”. The second complainant alleged he had kissed Bowen in a café after being “goaded” into it by other pupils, the court previously heard. Bowen said she does not remember this boy and does not know who he is.
Ms Wolfe summarised the teacher's defence as claiming “there was this conspiracy behind the witnesses who spoke about her conduct at the school”. She added: “We suggest that there is a considerable amount of evidence that support the allegations that were made by (the alleged victims), but there is little support for the account given by Ms Bowen.”
Bowen told the court in a previous hearing that she had an undiagnosed medical condition in the late 1980s which made sexual intercourse difficult and painful for her. Her partner of 36 years, Darren Scotchbrook, giving evidence today, said she was not aware of her condition when they met in the summer of 1990, and sex was “clearly not enjoyable for her” as a result.
Two medical experts instructed by the defence jointly concluded, following an internal examination of Ms Bowen, that “the alleged sexual activities were feasible”, though they could be painful, jurors were told.
Bowen, of Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, denies seven counts of indecent assault against two boys. The trial continues.
