Ex-boyfriend of teacher 'who had sex with pupil in toilet' learned of abortion from police, court told
Andrew Hall says it was 'incredibly unlikely' he was father of unborn child
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The former boyfriend of a physics teacher accused of having sex with a pupil while returning from a school trip only learned his partner had decided to have an abortion after the police told him two years later, a court has heard.
Andrew Hall said Eleanor Wilson, 29, had told him the news of her pregnancy but then later said she had lost the baby and had required emergency hospital treatment.
Ms Wilson, who was 26 at the time, is accused of having sex with the 16-year-old boy in the aircraft’s toilet as they flew back to the UK.
It is alleged she kissed and fondled the boy during the flight, during which they had both drunk alcohol, and she had then beckoned him into the cubicle where she performed a sex act on him before the pair had sex.
Bristol Crown Court heard she later went on several day trips with the boy, had kissed him in his bedroom, and had told him she was pregnant and he was the father.
Mr Hall told the jury he and Ms Wilson had been together for nine years but split in August 2016.
He said his partner had told him she was pregnant but then later said she had lost the baby.
“I remember the incident where Ellie called me and she had been rushed to hospital by a colleague after bleeding and had gone to hospital for a procedure,” he said.
“She described that procedure as having a blockage removed and I didn’t ask any further questions other than whether it would affect her chances of having a pregnancy in the future.”
Anna Midgley, defending Ms Wilson, suggested Mr Hall would be violent and controlling towards his partner.
Mr Hall described their relationship as “dysfunctional” but denied he was “controlling” and “aggressive” towards her.
“I would say we could be aggressive towards each other. There were heated arguments,” he said.
“When you had a drink and you were jealous about something, you get angry and you would shout and would get physical,” Ms Midgley said.
Mr Hall replied: “I would not, that’s not true. I was suspicious because I thought she was trying to cover something up.”
Ms Midgley also suggested that after Ms Wilson stopped taking the contraceptive pill the couple did not use any other contraception.
Mr Hall responded saying it was “incredibly unlikely” he was the father of the unborn child, but added: “We were still having sex every few months. We could have had intercourse around the time of the school trip.”
Ms Midgley asked: “She was saying to you ‘What would happen if I got pregnant?’ and you said ‘You will find yourself at the bottom of the stairs, that’s not happening’ and made references to a coat hanger.”
Mr Hall replied: “That’s not true.”
He also described an incident in which he heard Ms Wilson having a muffled telephone call with someone else.
“The two phrases that really jumped out were ‘I know you won’t tell anybody’ and ‘I know I can trust you’,” Mr Hall told the court.
“I opened the door and Ellie went to hang up the phone immediately. I asked who she was speaking to and she denied she was on the phone, which made me more suspicious.
“We to and froed, with me explaining I heard her and she was very aggressive. I was bemused. I continued to challenge her and eventually she told me she had been on the phone to her brother.
“She told me that I could look at the call history but then she drunkenly left the house. It was bizarre. She was upset and quite aggressive and she just walked out.”
The court has heard that, when Ms Wilson was first asked in September 2015 by the school’s headteacher about allegations of an inappropriate relationship with a student, she denied it.
It was only months later, when Ms Wilson told a colleague that another pupil was attempting to blackmail her into sex, the school launched an investigation and she was suspended.
Mr Hall described going to the school with Ms Wilson to talk to the headteacher about the alleged blackmail.
“I would say she was disgusted and upset and I was as well. I was very supportive of her.”
He said Ms Wilson did not tell him about the allegations of the inappropriate relationship and he only found out when he saw news reports of proceedings brought by the National College for Teaching and Leadership.
Mr Hall said he contacted her and added: “I was concerned primarily for what she might do. I was concerned for her personal welfare.
“She did respond and suggested it had all been blown up by the media. It did upset me because she had been dishonest with me on more than one occasion.”
Ms Wilson, of The Rope Walk, Dursley, Gloucestershire, denies four charges of sexual activity with a child by a person in a position of trust.
The trial continues.
Additional reporting by PA