Teachers having sex with their underage pupils is not limited to the epidemic that has plagued the U.S. for the past two decades, as a British gym teacher has been found guilty of sexually abusing her students.
Bronwen James, 30, was found guilty this week of repeatedly having sex with a 16-year-old male student. She also confessed to sexually abusing two younger schoolgirls, including a 14-year-old she allegedly molested in the back seat of her car, the Sun reported.
At the time of her illegal relationship with the boy, she was teaching physical education at Bitterne Park School in Southampton, Hampshire, a port city about 80 miles southwest of London.
The revelation about the two girls, who were ages 13 and 14, emerged when it was learned James had pleaded guilty to nine charges relating to the two girls, the Sun reported.
According to that British publication:
James admitted four counts of sexual activity and one of engaging in sexual communication with a child relating to the younger girl. The teacher picked the girl up in her car when she turned 14 and had sex with her at the home she shared with her boyfriend, it was said.
She further pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual activity, one of engaging in sexual communication with a child and a final count of making an indecent photograph of a child.
The teacher had apparently formed sexual relationships with students at several schools where she worked during her career. At one private school, she received a written warning about fraternization with students.
Despite that, the Sun reported, she went on to form sexual relationships at two more schools; the one in Southampton and another in Chippenham in northwest Wiltshire, England.
James blamed her behavior on immaturity when she began teaching at the age of 21.
“I just don’t think I was ready for it,” she said in her defense, according to the Sun. “As my career progressed, I realized maybe I was seeking validation from the wrong people.”
James will be sentenced at a later date. She is not alone.
Just two weeks ago, a female chemistry teacher, now 65, was convicted of sexually assaulting two students at an all-boys school in London in the 1980s when the educator was in her twenties.
WATCH:
As Breitbart News reported earlier this month, the epidemic of teacher sexual abuse in the U.S. has drawn the attention of the Trump administration’s Department of Education.
Leading experts have told Breitbart News that “rampant” sexual misconduct by teachers in American schools is the result of a “culture of permissiveness” and the failure of fellow teachers and administrators to report suspected grooming and sexual behaviors when they become apparent.
The Department of Education has announced a crackdown, employing investigations and lawsuits on school districts that enable “educator sexual misconduct” by hiding teacher offenses and enabling them to teach at other schools, which is a practice known in education circles as “passing the trash.”
“This epidemic of nationwide sexual abuse in our schools must end,” Department of Education Secretary Linda McMahon warned educators in a “dear colleague” letter sent to school districts across the U.S.
Breitbart News contributor Lowell Cauffiel is the author of the New York Times true crime best seller House of Secrets, which documents one of the worst cases of child sex abuse in U.S. history, and nine other crime novels and nonfiction titles. See lowellcauffiel.com for more.
