Teacher facing jail for having sex with boy (15)

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Teacher Facing Jail For Having Sex With Boy (15)
Kandice Barber, © PA Wire/PA Images
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By Helen William, PA

A married teacher has been warned she faces a prison sentence after being convicted of having sex with a 15-year-old boy.

Kandice Barber, of Wendover, Buckinghamshire, was found guilty after a retrial of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and told she could be jailed for five years.

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Amersham Law Courts heard that the 35-year-old had told the boy she would “bring him down with her” if the relationship was discovered, and that she was pregnant with his child.

Jurors took 10 hours and 39 minutes to reach their verdicts.

Kandice Barber court case
Kandice Barber leaves Amersham Law Courts with her husband, Daniel (Jonathan Brady/PA)

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Barber was found not guilty of two further counts of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.

She had sent topless pictures of herself to the boy while she was working as a school cover supervisor.

He cannot be named for legal reasons.

Prosecutor Richard Milne told Recorder Bal Dhaliwal that the starting point for sentencing should be five years in jail as there was “an abuse of trust, a significant degree of planning, there is grooming behaviour used against the victim”, plus threats and sexual images were sent.

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The “significant” disparity in age between Barber and the boy may also be a factor in helping the judge decide the length of the sentence, which could range from four to 10 years, he added.

Barber was convicted in September of sending the boy topless pictures of herself on Snapchat between September and October 2018, but was acquitted of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity while in a position of trust.

She approached the pupil at a sports presentation in September 2018, and took his phone before adding herself to his Snapchat, which the teenager thought was “a bit weird”, Mr Milne had told the court.

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Kandice Barber court case
The jury at Amersham Law Court took 10 hours and 39 minutes to find Kandice Barber guilty (Jonathan Brady/PA)

The boy felt “worried and scared” and Barber told him “he should deny everything and should delete all the messages”, said Mr Milne.

Barber had a miscarriage but she warned the boy she would “bring him down with her” if he “snitched” by making a false allegation of rape, the court heard.

Mr Milne told the jury: “They engaged in sexual intercourse at the time he was 15 years of age and she was a teacher and he was a pupil at the school.

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“It makes not a jot of difference that he was a he – the law applies equally to men and women.

“In law he could not give consent to have sexual intercourse.”

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Sentencing will take place at Aylesbury Crown Court on February 15.

The judge also told Barber she will review her bail at a hearing at Aylesbury Crown Court on Friday morning.

The judge said: “I will consider whether you should be remanded pending your sentence.”

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