Jury sent out in case of teacher accused of sex with pupil in plane toilet
Eleanor Wilson denies four charges of sexual activity with child following claims by former pupil
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The jury in the trial of a teacher accused of having sex with a pupil in an aeroplane toilet has retired to consider its verdict.
Eleanor Wilson, 29, denies having intercourse with a 16-year-old pupil on a British Airways flight as they returned home from an overseas school trip in 2015.
Bristol Crown Court heard the teacher, then 26, kissed and cuddled with the boy before “beckoning” him into the toilet, whey they had sex before returning to their seats.
It is then alleged she organised to meet up with the boy romantically on several occasions once the trip was over, having a meal at Nando’s and taking a trip to Tintern Abbey in south Wales.
Within weeks, rumours began to spread around the school the pair were in a relationship, claims Ms Wilson said she was “horrified” by when confronted by the head teacher.
At the same time Wilson discovered she was pregnant and went on to have an abortion, a child prosecutors claim was fathered by the boy.
The court heard their “clandestine” relationship was eventually exposed months later when another pupil at the school tried to blackmail the teacher into having sex with him.
Ms Wilson told the court the boy had imagined the incident in the toilet and also denied holding his hand and kissing him during time alone, insisting there was “no truth whatsoever” in the allegations.
She also accused her-then partner Andrew Hall of being violent and controlling and not being ready to start a family with her.
The teenager, who bought Wilson flowers and chocolates, told the jury a bond developed between them, insisting his account was not fantasy and that he was telling the truth.
Judge Peter Blair QC, The Recorder of Bristol, told the jury of six men and six women they should strive to reach unanimous verdicts.
“The prosecution case has brought the case to this court so the prosecution have the burden of proving the case. The defendant does not have to prove or disprove anything,” the judge said.
Wilson, of Dursley, Gloucestershire denies four charges of sexual activity with a child by a person in a position of trust.
The jury was sent home to consider its deliberations on Tuesday.
Additional reporting by PA