A former chemistry teacher has been found guilty of indecent assaults on two teenage boys in the 1980s. Sally-Anne Bowen, 65, was convicted on Thursday at Harrow Crown Court of seven counts of indecent assault, following a jury deliberation of six hours and 29 minutes.
Offences at North London School
The offences took place while Bowen taught at Christ’s College, an all-boys school in Finchley, north London. The boys were aged around 14 to 15 at the time. Bowen, who appeared in the dock wearing a black skirt, purple shirt, and black blazer, showed no visible emotion as the verdicts were read.
One complainant told the court that he had sex with the teacher "about 20 or 30 times" over several months. He said he visited Bowen’s home, considered her his girlfriend, and had fallen in love. The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said he kept the relationship secret because he felt compelled to "protect" the teacher, who had "drummed it" into him that he was not allowed to tell anyone.
Testimony from Former Pupil
The second complainant said he and Bowen kissed once in a cafe when he was "goaded" into it by other boys. Jurors were also told that Bowen dressed in a "sexually provocative" way at school. Former pupil Tobias Oliver, who did not know the two victims, told the trial that Bowen "dressed and behaved more like my teenage female friends than the other teachers" and that classroom conversations "often strayed away from chemistry and became quite sexual."
Mr Oliver described Bowen as "very flirtatious" and said she once discussed the merits of different sexual positions with students after a boy was seen reading a sex manual. He also recounted an occasion when Bowen sat on a desk and slowly opened her legs, revealing her underwear. Richard Luker, who was head of science at the school in the late 1980s, remembered a complaint from the first victim’s mother about a planned trip abroad with Bowen.
Denial and Sentencing
During the trial, Bowen claimed the allegations were a "total fabrication" and said she had a medical condition that made sexual intercourse difficult and painful. Bowen, of Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, is scheduled to be sentenced on November 20.
