Jury discharged in case of teaching assistant accused sex with pupil

April Roach @aprilroach2815 September 2020
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A jury has been discharged in the trial of a teaching assistant accused of having sex with a 15-year-old student, moments after convicting her of sending topless Snapchat pictures to the teenager.

Kandice Barber, 35, of Wendover, Buckinghamshire, was accused of having sex with the boy in a field while she was working as a school cover supervisor.

She was also accused of sending him topless pictures of herself on Snapchat between September and October 2018.

A jury at Aylesbury Crown Court found her guilty of two sex offence charges relating to the topless pictures and a video, but were unable to reach verdicts on three more serious charges of causing or inciting a child aged under 16 to engage in a sexual act.

She was acquitted of one count of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activities while in a position of trust.

Teacher Kandice Barber, 35, leaves Aylesbury Crown Court, Buckinghamshire, with her husband Daniel
PA

During a two-week trial, jurors heard that the boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, claimed the mother-of-three had told him he had a bigger penis than her husband and she was pregnant with his child.

The jury heard that Barber and the boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had sex in a field in October 2018 after she approached him at a sports presentation evening the previous month and added herself to his Snapchat on his phone.

She was arrested after the boy revealed the relationship to the headteacher in March 2019 after naked pictures of Barber circulated around Princes Risborough School in Buckinghamshire, the court heard.

In her evidence, Barber said she had given the teenager her number so he could talk to her about any issues and denied the conversations were sexual.

She told the court she never sent him topless pictures of herself and claimed the My Eyes Only folder in her Snapchat had been hacked.

The jury heard that police found Barber had Googled “alibi” and “having an affair”, which she claimed were in reference to the film Fatal Attraction.

She said she became uncomfortable with the boy’s phone calls and when she refused to have any contact with him she claimed he sent a message reading: “Watch what’s going to happen, you’re going to lose your job, you’re going to lose your family.”

In November 2018 Barber was off school for two weeks after suffering an ectopic pregnancy.

She denied ever telling the complainant the baby could be his, but said the fact that she had lost a baby was well known around the school.

Giving evidence in court, her husband, Daniel Barber, said they had been trying for a baby around the time of the alleged offences.

As the verdicts were given, Mr Barber told jurors she was his “rock” and denied their relationship was going through a bad patch at the time of the offences.

The jury of seven women and five men delivered their verdicts on Tuesday after deliberating for more than 10 hours. A retrial has been scheduled for January 18.

Additional reporting by PA Media.

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