Judith Evans, a 33-year-old teacher from Elmwood Grove in Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland, was sentenced at Belfast Crown Court for a series of sexual offences against a 14-year-old pupil at Belfast Boys Model School. The offences, which occurred between March 1 and May 17, 2024, involved grooming the vulnerable teenager, engaging in sexual communication, and committing acts of sexual abuse.
The case began when Evans noticed the pupil's distressed demeanour at school and offered support, providing him with her personal email and mobile number. This quickly escalated into inappropriate texting, with messages containing sexual suggestions from an early stage. Over the Easter holidays, Evans sent sexualised images of herself and expressed a desire for sexual relations. The communications, totalling 9,528 text messages—many highly explicit—were recovered from her phone by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) after she deleted them. These included videos of Evans naked in the bath, and indecent images of the teenager were also found on her device.
Physical encounters followed, including driving the boy to Black Mountain on April 26, 2024, where unprotected sexual intercourse took place in her car. Two further meetings outside school involved sexual activity, one of which included penetration and causing the child to watch a sexual act. Evans admitted to eight charges: sexual communication with a child, three counts of meeting a child following sexual grooming, sexual activity with a child involving penetration, causing a child to watch a sexual act, and possessing indecent images of the schoolboy.
After concerns were raised at school about her favouritism towards the boy, the offences came to light on May 17, 2024, when explicit messages from 'Jude' were discovered on his phone by a third party. His family reported the matter to the PSNI, leading to Evans' arrest that day. Initially, she gave a 'no comment' interview, but in a second interview on June 14, 2024, she falsely claimed the teenager had raped her and threatened her. She also admitted a charge of perverting the course of justice for this false allegation between June 13 and 27, 2024.
Judge Patricia Smyth, imposing a four-year sentence—two years in custody and two on licence—described Evans as having 'groomed this child, who was vulnerable by reason of age and personal circumstances, basking in his adolescent attraction towards her'. The judge highlighted aggravating factors such as the breach of trust, the repetitive and intense nature of the communications, and the significant age difference. Evans was placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life and made subject to a five-year Sexual Offences Prevention Order, barring her from working with children. She is no longer teaching.
Victim impact statements from the teenager and his parents detailed the profound harm caused. The boy expressed fear at school, regret, shame, and trust issues, while his mother spoke of guilt and betrayal, and his father of concerns for his son's future mental health. Both the teenager and his mother are receiving counselling. PSNI Detective Chief Inspector Jill Duffie called Evans a 'cold, calculating child predator' who abused her position of trust, preying on the boy's vulnerabilities.
The sentencing occurred on March 14, 2025, as reported by Belfast Live, underscoring the devastating impact on the victim's family life and the need to protect immature teenagers from such exploitation.