A married teaching assistant appeared in court yesterday accused of performing a sex act on a teenage pupil during a school trip.
Jill Meldrum-Jones, 36, is said to have carried out a string of sex offences involving the boy during the trip and over a three-month period.
She is also accused of sexually assaulting a second teenage boy from the same school.
Prosecutor John Cardiff told magistrates that Meldrum-Jones, who has young children of her own, was accused of a ‘clear breach of trust’, adding that she was charged with ‘engaging in sexual activity with the young man on various occasions’.
READ: 'You were amazing last night' – teaching assistant to schoolgirl lover
Meldrum-Jones worked at the child’s secondary school in Warwickshire, which cannot be named for legal reasons, and lives with her family nearby.
During a ten-minute appearance at Warwickshire Justice Centre in Leamington Spa yesterday, Meldrum-Jones spoke only to confirm that she did not wish to enter a plea.
The teaching assistant, who is thought to have been suspended from work earlier this year, is accused of five counts of touching a teenage boy, two counts of causing or inciting the boy to engage in sexual activity, and grooming a boy under the age of 16 by text or messaging with the intention of meeting to engage in sexual activity.
Meldrum-Jones is also accused of sexually assaulting the second boy by touching him on a separate occasion.
Magistrates’ chairman Paul Tasker committed the case to trial at Warwick Crown Court, which will be heard next month.
Meldrum-Jones was released on bail.
Conditions of bail included an agreement not to approach colleagues at the school.
The court heard she is also not allowed unsupervised access with children under-16, unless approved by social workers.
Daily Mail