A science teacher had sex with a pupil in the toilet of an aeroplane while they were returning from a school trip, a court has heard.
Eleanor Wilson, who was 26 at the time, is accused of fondling the 16-year-old boy as they flew back to Heathrow, before beckoning him to the aircraft’s loo where she is alleged to have performed a sex act on him.
They then had full sex before returning to their seats, Bristol Crown Court heard.
Ms Wilson later told the boy she was pregnant and that he was the father, but that she would have an abortion, the court was told.
The defendant and the boy, who had both allegedly been drinking during the flight, had been part of a group of staff and pupils on a school trip during the summer holidays of 2015.
Prosecutor Virginia Cornwall said during the trip Ms Wilson and the boy, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, spent a lot of time together.
“It was the circumstances in which the two interacted on that trip that led to an erosion of boundaries and it was her responsibility, the Crown say, as the adult, to ensure there was no erosion of boundaries,” she said.
“She was a 26-year-old woman and he was a teenage boy.
“It was her choice to be with him. There were a lot of night-time chats where others had gone off to bed.
“He was being treated on a par, an equal basis, as if an adult.”
“It was the alcohol, you might find on the evidence, contributed to the lack of inhibition on the part of the defendant,” the prosecutor said.
“Such intimacies and attraction built up during the days and nights of the trip, which resulted in close contact on the plane.”
She beckoned him into the toilet, where they had sex, Ms Cornwall said.
“Having had sex they went back to their seats.
“It was a secret between them.”
After returning home, their relationship continued, with Ms Wilson and the teenager going for a meal in Nando’s with others from the trip and also having days out alone together, it is claimed.
The court heard the teenager bought Wilson a bunch of flowers and chocolates, she gave him a lift home and he showed her his bedroom where they kissed.
They also allegedly had days out together at Tintern Abbey and Ashton Court, going for pub meals and drinking pints of cider together.
The jury was told they had swapped mobile phone numbers and Ms Wilson rang him while she was on holiday in Italy with her boyfriend.
The boy's father noticed his son's behaviour had changed and he talked “incessantly” about Ms Wilson and said he was going to split up with his girlfriend.
The teenager had told friends about the relationship but sworn them to secrecy, and when the pair returned to the school for the start of the new academic year, rumours circulated.
Ms Wilson was spoken to by the school's head and deputy, but denied it and “appeared shocked”, Ms Cornwall said.
Ms Wilson, of The Rope Walk, Dursley, Gloucestershire, denies four charges of sexual activity with a child by a person in a position of trust.
The trial continues.
Press Association contributed to this report
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