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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Teacher cleared in pupil sex case | Teacher cleared in pupil sex case |
| (about 8 hours later) | |
| A female teacher has been found not guilty of engaging in sexual activity with a 15-year-old pupil. | A female teacher has been found not guilty of engaging in sexual activity with a 15-year-old pupil. |
| Rebecca Poole, 26, of May Lane, Hollywood, Worcestershire, was filmed performing a lewd act on the boy but had maintained she was forced to do so. | Rebecca Poole, 26, of May Lane, Hollywood, Worcestershire, was filmed performing a lewd act on the boy but had maintained she was forced to do so. |
| She was also accused at Birmingham Crown Court of having sex with the boy in her husband's Porsche. | She was also accused at Birmingham Crown Court of having sex with the boy in her husband's Porsche. |
| The teacher was cleared of three charges of sexual activity with a child and also one count of abuse of trust. | The teacher was cleared of three charges of sexual activity with a child and also one count of abuse of trust. |
| Mrs Poole said during the trial the boy, who is now 17 and cannot be named for legal reasons, had held a screwdriver to her neck to force her to perform the sex act. | Mrs Poole said during the trial the boy, who is now 17 and cannot be named for legal reasons, had held a screwdriver to her neck to force her to perform the sex act. |
| She was arrested in October last year after the boy's parents saw the video on his mobile phone. | She was arrested in October last year after the boy's parents saw the video on his mobile phone. |
| I remember thinking 'I can't tell my husband' and thinking my career was over Rebecca Poole | I remember thinking 'I can't tell my husband' and thinking my career was over Rebecca Poole |
| But the teacher said she was unaware he had filmed the encounter in the drama studio of the Birmingham school where she taught. | But the teacher said she was unaware he had filmed the encounter in the drama studio of the Birmingham school where she taught. |
| "I remember looking at his face and realising that he was so confident in what he was doing that I had no way out. I just couldn't get out," she told the jury. | "I remember looking at his face and realising that he was so confident in what he was doing that I had no way out. I just couldn't get out," she told the jury. |
| The mother-of-one said she was "frightened, really really frightened" by the incident. | The mother-of-one said she was "frightened, really really frightened" by the incident. |
| Referring to five previous incidents in which she had been groped by pupils and had informed her head teacher, Ms Poole said: "All the other incidents had been minor in comparison to this. | Referring to five previous incidents in which she had been groped by pupils and had informed her head teacher, Ms Poole said: "All the other incidents had been minor in comparison to this. |
| 'No threats' | 'No threats' |
| "I remember thinking 'I can't tell my husband' and thinking my career was over." | "I remember thinking 'I can't tell my husband' and thinking my career was over." |
| The teenager had earlier told the court he had asked her to perform the sex act and had leaned against the classroom door to ensure no-one could enter. | The teenager had earlier told the court he had asked her to perform the sex act and had leaned against the classroom door to ensure no-one could enter. |
| The boy denied he had invented the sexual encounters alleged to have occurred outside of school. | The boy denied he had invented the sexual encounters alleged to have occurred outside of school. |
| He also insisted that Mrs Poole had not been threatened during the incident at the school. | He also insisted that Mrs Poole had not been threatened during the incident at the school. |
| The incident is closed as far as Mrs Poole is concerned Rebecca Poole's solicitor | |
| After the case the Crown Prosecution Service said that as Mrs Poole had not made a formal complaint about the incident they had not pursued a prosecution against the teenager. | |
| Fiona Warman, a partner at Mrs Poole's solicitors Williamson and Soden, said her client would not pursue any charges against the boy. | |
| "The incident is closed as far as Mrs Poole is concerned. | |
| "It is not that it did not happen, but closure is a very good thing for all parties." | |
| Teaching unions have welcomed the outcome and added that is was cases like this that made teachers want to leave the profession. | |
| National Union of Teachers' spokesman Bill Anderson also said teachers should be given anonymity in such cases. |