The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Teacher to avoid retrial with no verdict reached
Court: Woman accused of having sex with pupil
A former teacher will not face a retrial over allegations she had sex with a student in the toilet of a plane as they returned from a school trip.
Eleanor Wilson, 29, denied four charges of sexual activity with a child by a person in a position of trust during a trial at Bristol Crown Court.
Judge Peter Blair QC, the Recorder of Bristol, told the jury of four men and six women they could leave after 10-and-a-half hours of deliberations last week.
The jury foreman informed the judge there was not a “realistic prospect” of reaching majority verdicts in any of the charges against Ms Wilson.
Following the jury’s dismissal, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) asked for seven days to consider if it wished to seek a retrial.
On Wednesday, a spokeswoman for the CPS said: “The CPS has decided not to seek a retrial in this case.
“This decision follows careful consideration including speaking with the complainant.”
Ms Wilson was accused of having drink-fuelled sexual intercourse with the teenager on a British Airways flight home from a camping trip in August 2015.
It was alleged the teacher, then aged 26, kissed and cuddled the boy before beckoning him into the toilet, where they allegedly had sex.
She was also said to have seen the boy outside of school and allegedly kissed and cuddled him on three separate occasions.
Within weeks of the pair returning from the trip, rumours spread around the school that Ms Wilson was in a relationship with a student.
Giving evidence, the teenager said a bond had developed between them. He said his account was not fantasy and he was telling the truth.
Ms Wilson, of The Rope Walk, Dursley, Gloucestershire, was released on unconditional bail following last week’s hearing.
She was banned indefinitely from teaching in July last year following a report by the National College for Teaching and Leadership.