Sally-Anne Bowen, a former chemistry teacher at Christ's College in Finchley, north London, has been found guilty of seven counts of indecent assault against two pupils. The assaults occurred in the late 1980s when the victims were between 14 and 15 years old, and Bowen was in her mid-20s.
A jury at Harrow Crown Court delivered the verdict after deliberating for six hours and 29 minutes. Bowen, 65, was granted bail and is scheduled for sentencing on November 20.
One complainant testified that he had a sexual relationship with Bowen, engaging in intercourse approximately 20 to 30 times over several months. He stated he visited her home and believed they were in a relationship, considering her his girlfriend and having fallen in love with her. He also told the court that Bowen instructed him to keep their relationship secret.
The second complainant reported being kissed by Bowen in a café, an act he said he was goaded into by other boys.
During the trial, a former pupil, Tobias Oliver, who did not know the complainants, described Bowen's classroom behavior. He stated she acted as if she were in a "Sabrina Carpenter video" and that her dress and demeanor were more akin to those of teenage students than other teachers. Oliver recalled that class discussions frequently shifted from chemistry to sexual topics. He also mentioned incidents where Bowen flashed her underwear to the class while sitting on a table and discussed a "sex manual," which he believed to be the Kama Sutra, that a student had brought to school.
Richard Luker, who was the head of science at the school during the period of the alleged assaults, testified that he recalled receiving a complaint from the first alleged victim's mother. The mother had expressed concern about Bowen's plans to travel abroad with the student at the end of the school term.
Bowen, who resides in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, maintained throughout the trial that the allegations were a "total fabrication." She also claimed to have a medical condition, undiagnosed at the time, which made sexual intercourse difficult and painful for her.