Northern Ireland

Teacher who sexually abused teenage pupil to be sentenced in March

Judith Evans admitted grooming and having sex with the schoolboy

Russell shouted "scumbag'' among other offensive remarks at the judge after he left the courtroom and retired to his chambers.  
Judith Evans admitted grooming and having sex with the schoolboy (Anneke Schram)

A disgraced teacher who sexually abused a teenage pupil is due to be sentenced for a string of offences in March.

Judith Evans - who admitted grooming and having sex with the schoolboy - was due to be sentenced for eight offences at Belfast Crown Court on Wednesday.

Due to the ongoing withdrawal of services by criminal barristers in a dispute of Legal Aid cases, sentencing did not proceed.

Instead, Judge Patricia Smyth set a new date for sentencing as March 7.

Evans (33), from Elmwood Grove in Newtownabbey, was a teacher at the Belfast Boys Model School when the offences occurred.

Join the Irish News Whatsapp channel

Despite her initial denials, the mother-of-two pleaded guilty to a total of eight sexual offences committed against the teenage boy.

The charges she admitted include sexual communication with a child, meeting a child following sexual grooming, sexual activity with a child involving penetration and possessing indecent images of the schoolboy.

These offences were committed between March 1 and May 17, 2024.

Evans also admitted a charge of perverting the course of justice between June 13 and 27, 2024 by making a false allegation that she was sexually assaulted by the teenager.

At a prior hearing, it emerged that just under 10,000 text messages were exchanged between Evans and the teenager.

Currently on bail and no longer teaching, Evans faces a jail term and being placed on the Sex Offenders Register for the offences she committed.