Chemistry teacher convicted of indecent assault on two pupils at Finchley school

Sally-Anne Bowen, 65, was found guilty of seven counts of indecent assault against teenage boys at Christ's College, Finchley. Sentencing is set for 20 November.

Chemistry teacher convicted of indecent assaults on teenage boys at north London school

A jury at Harrow Crown Court found Sally-Anne Bowen, 65, guilty of seven counts of indecent assault against two teenage pupils at Christ's College in Finchley, north London, BBC News reports. Deliberations lasted six hours and 29 minutes before the verdict was returned on Thursday.

Bowen was a chemistry teacher at the all-boys school in the late 1980s. Both complainants were aged around 14 to 15 at the time of the assaults; she was in her mid-20s.

One complainant told the court he had sex with Bowen "about 20 or 30 times" over several months, that he visited her at home, considered her his girlfriend and had fallen in love with her. He said she had "drummed it" into him to keep their relationship secret and tell no one. A second complainant told jurors he kissed Bowen in a café after being "goaded" into it by other boys.

A former pupil, Tobias Oliver, described Bowen's classroom conduct during the trial. He said she acted as though she were in "a Sabrina Carpenter video" and "dressed and behaved more like my teenage female friends than the other teachers." Oliver told the court that lessons frequently drifted from chemistry into sexual topics, and he recalled incidents in which she flashed her underwear to the class while sitting on a table and led a class discussion on what he believed to be the Kama Sutra, brought in by a student.

Richard Luker, who served as head of science at the school during the same period, told the court he had received a complaint from the first alleged victim's mother. She had grown concerned after learning her son was planning to travel abroad with Bowen at the end of term.

Bowen, of Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, denied all charges during the trial, describing the allegations as a "total fabrication." She also told the court she had a medical condition — undiagnosed at the time — that made sexual intercourse difficult and painful.

Bowen was granted bail following the verdict and will be sentenced on 20 November.

Source: BBC News