Chemistry teacher guilty of indecent assault with two male pupils

A chemistry teacher from Christ’s College in Finchley, north London, has been found guilty of indecently assaulting two male pupils in the late 1980s. Sally-Anne Bowen, 65, was convicted of seven counts of indecent assault after a six-hour and 29-minute jury deliberation. The teacher did not show emotion as the verdicts were read out in Harrow Crown Court.

One of the complainants testified that he had sexual relations with Bowen "about 20 or 30 times" over several months. He visited her home, considered her his girlfriend, and fell in love. The man claimed he kept their relationship a secret because he felt compelled to "protect" Bowen, who had instructed him not to disclose their affair. He stated, "I never, ever spoke to anyone about it. I was always really aware, she drummed it into me."

The second complainant admitted to kissing Bowen once in a café when he was "goaded" into it by other boys. Jurors were also informed that Bowen would dress provocatively at school, acting more like a teenage female friend than a teacher. A former pupil described Bowen as "very flirtatious" in class, often straying from chemistry lessons to discuss sexual topics.

Another incident involved Bowen sitting on a desk and slowly opening her legs while revealing her underwear to the class. Richard Luker, the head of science at the school in the late 1980s, testified that a mother of the first complainant had expressed concern that her son planned to travel abroad with Bowen at the end of term. Bowen pleaded guilty to the allegations, claiming they were "total fabrication" and that she had a medical condition that made sexual intercourse difficult and painful. She is scheduled to be sentenced on November 20.