A teaching assistant on trial for allegedly engaging in sexual activity with a child paraded in front of a schoolboy in hotpants at her home, where she showed him a drawer full of sex toys, a jury was told. Melanie Rock, 34, allegedly groomed the 15-year-old on Instagram before a colleague spotted her with him at a Pizza Hut.
Alleged grooming and visits
Rock was a teaching assistant at Medina College on the Isle of Wight at the time of the alleged offences, which the court heard took place between October and November 2023. Prosecutor Tim Devlin said Rock began speaking to the boy on social media after her initial attempts to get his phone number were rejected.
The boy was said to have visited the teacher's home in Cowes on multiple occasions, Isle of Wight Crown Court heard. On one visit, it is alleged that Rock "paraded around" in a pair of hot pants and showed the schoolboy a drawer "filled with sex toys" in her bedroom. She is also accused of giving him money and vapes, and buying him a pair of designer Trapstar tracksuits worth more than £350, reports the Sun.
Alleged gifts and incidents
She allegedly slipped £20 into his pocket on one occasion, telling him "this is your Christmas money", before going to Rock's home to eat Domino's pizza and go trick-or-treating, jurors were told. Rock claimed she had "taken him under her wing" at school and said the boy was "surprised" when she messaged him because she was a teacher.
The boy claimed Rock hugged him from behind and pressed her body against his with her legs around him in a "koala hug", the court heard. The boy also told police Rock invited him to "enjoy her room" before she "directed him" towards a drawer containing a blue bag, handcuffs and black see-through lingerie. He said the alleged incident involving the sex toys left him feeling "weird".
Discovery and denial
The court heard one of Rock's colleagues saw her with the teen at Pizza Hut. The police were then informed. When questioned by police, Rock claimed she had only met the boy by chance and that he had visited her home on just a single occasion.
The prosecutor told jurors that CCTV would reveal Rock and the pupil together on several occasions. Rock is no longer employed at Medina College. She has denied meeting a child following sexual grooming and sexual activity with a child by a person in a position of trust. The trial continues.
