A mother told Harrow Crown Court that she discovered photobooth pictures of her son with a chemistry teacher who is accused of abusing him. Sally-Anne Bowen, 65, was also seen walking down a north London road with the then-teenage boy by his mother.

Bowen is accused of preying on two boys at Christ's College in Finchley when they were aged 14 and 15 in the late 1980s. The prosecution alleges that Bowen, then 25, engaged in flirtatious conduct with the pupils and had sex with one of them between 20 and 30 times over five months.

The mother of one of the alleged victims testified that her son's behavior changed around age 14, becoming rude and arrogant, and that he would stay out all hours. In 1988, a teacher called her into the school to discuss her son's behavior. The mother also wrote to the family's GP expressing concern about her son's association with a female teacher at the school.

Describing how she discovered the extent of the relationship, the mother stated, "She was seen walking down the road with my son." She and her daughter decided to investigate, and during a period when the son was sent away for two weeks, Bowen repeatedly called the house. After her son returned, his behavior remained unchanged, which the mother attributed to Bowen's continued contact.

Upon searching her son's belongings, the mother found Bowen's name and phone number. When she called and spoke to Bowen, she confronted the teacher about an alleged affair with her son, demanding it stop. The mother stated that Bowen denied the affair, and when the mother threatened to go to the police, Bowen became quiet. The mother then contacted the school, but she claimed no action was taken.

The mother also recounted finding a photobooth picture of Bowen and her son. She described the picture as a small black and white photograph showing their heads close together, expressing that tearing it up was "the worst thing I did" and that she was "still angry all these years because that was evidence."

During the trial, Bowen's barrister, Mark Kimsey, questioned the mother's account, suggesting the phone call with Bowen never happened and that the photobooth pictures were untrue. The mother maintained her testimony, asserting, "It did. You're calling me a liar again," and appealing to her oath on the Bible.

An ex-wife of one of the alleged victims also testified, stating her former husband spoke about his relationship with Bowen during the early years of their marriage in the 2000s. She recalled him bragging about his sexual prowess, attributing his knowledge to the teacher. She also shared an account of Bowen showing him a pornographic magazine and describing her own anatomy.

The ex-wife further testified that her ex-husband spoke of seeing Bowen on the bus, walking her home on several occasions, and being invited into her flat. He also reportedly said that Bowen took him to an end-of-term pub gathering. The ex-husband described sexual encounters with Bowen in a house and on the London Underground, including instances of fellatio on a train.

When questioned by Kimsey about details not included in her 2014 police statement, the ex-wife stated that the information emerged gradually over two decades of conversations. She denied discussing her evidence with her ex-husband, stating they were instructed not to speak about the case, and that her updated account was a result of conversations over the past 20 years. She explained that details about her ex-husband lifting Bowen's skirt and Bowen having "no boundaries" were not previously mentioned because the barrister had not asked.

Jurors were informed that the boy's relationship with Bowen ended when she told him she was leaving the UK for a kibbutz in Israel, which left him feeling abandoned and confused. The boy first reported Bowen to the police in November 2014, encouraged by his partner.

Bowen was initially interviewed the following year, denying the sexual relationship and describing the boy as a "nuisance" and "besotted." A Teaching Regulation Authority hearing in 2022 prompted a second boy to come forward with allegations that Bowen allowed him to touch her breasts and kissed him during lunch at a cafe near the school. This pupil also recalled placing his hand near her crotch without a negative reaction from Bowen.

Bowen has pleaded not guilty to eight counts of indecent assault.