Teacher accused of having sex with schoolboy on aeroplane will not face new trial
A teacher who allegedly had sex with a student in the lavatory of a plane as they returned from a school trip will not face a retrial, it has emerged.
Eleanor Wilson, 29, denied four charges of sexual activity with a child under 18 by a person in a position of trust.
Judge Peter Blair QC, the Recorder of Bristol, told the jury of four men and six women at Bristol Crown Court last week that they could leave after 10-and-a-half hours of deliberations.
The jury foreman informed the judge there was not a “realistic prospect” of reaching majority verdicts.
Following the jury’s dismissal, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) asked for seven days to consider if it wished to seek a retrial.
However, a spokesman for the CPS confirmed there would not be a retrial. It is understood the teenager had no desire to go through a repeat of proceedings.
Ms Wilson was accused of having sex with the teenager after drinking heavily during a British Airways flight in August 2015. It was alleged the teacher, then aged 26, kissed and cuddled the boy before beckoning him into the lavatory 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.
Jurors were told the “clandestine” relationship was exposed months later when another pupil tried to blackmail Ms Wilson.
The teacher insisted the boy had imagined what he claimed happened on the plane and said there was “no truth whatsoever” in the allegations, adding that she was “horrified” by the accusations.
Giving evidence, the teenager said that a bond had developed between them and that he was telling the truth.
Ms Wilson, of Dursley, Gloucestershire, was released on unconditional bail following last week’s hearing. She was banned indefinitely from teaching in July last year.
