Yahoo Finance Teacher accused of sex with teenage girls says claims are ‘Fifty shades of Grey’ fantasy
A school teacher accused of sex with underage girls says the claims are “fantasy” which could have been lifted from Fifty Shades of Grey.
Cambridge graduate Ben Breakwell, 40, is accused of grooming two girls, aged 13 and 14, and orchestrating a series of sexual encounters at his London home.
The professional singer, who worked in a London secondary school, insists the allegations are untrue but admits being an “absolute idiot” in the way he interacted with the girls, said his barrister Sarah Elliott QC.
“He may be a Cambridge graduate but he clearly is a fool”, she told jurors at Isleworth crown court.
She insisted the allegations by the 14-year-old girl of a three-year sexual relationship was nothing more than a “fantasy relationship”.
“It is what she wanted – to be able to say ‘me too’, I’ve got a boyfriend, I can talk about sex”, she said.
“We say that wasn’t true, that’s what she wanted, that’s what she fantasised about.”
He has insisted the allegations are a series of lies, and told the court a message he sent saying “I love you” was meant as a joke.
Both girls claim Breakwell brought up the idea of a threesome, while the 13-year-old was recorded by friends claiming to be in a sexual relationship with him.
Ms Elliott said the girl’s description of the alleged affair “could have come out of Fifty Shades of Grey” and details may have been lifted from online pornography.
“Is that Ben Breakwell?”, she asked. “Or is it a young girl who has been exposed to…hardcore, violent pornography?”
A third girl has accused Breakwell of sexual assault when he tried to kiss her.
Ms Elliott said the girl “very determinedly sees herself as a victim”, and gave evidence of being “groomed and assaulted”.
But she argued: “That’s clearly now how she looks back on this, but everything about what happened at the time suggests it’s not what she thought at the time.
“There may be some rewriting of history so far as she is concerned.”
She said Breakwell had “stupidly” texted the girl after the incident to say “it was funny and sweet, let’s do it again some time”.
“He’s an absolute idiot”, she said.
“He clearly is a fool, isn’t he? He may be a Cambridge graduate but he clearly is a fool.
“He maybe a brilliant musician but he is a fool. He did make errors of judgement time and time again.”
But she added: “He has got himself into this mess, but it doesn’t mean he’s a criminal.”
Breakwell, who now lives in Monkgate, York, denies 22 charges of sexual activity with a child, three counts of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, four charges of sexual activity with a child by a person in a position of trust, a count of sexual assault, and two allegations of taking indecent photographs of a child.
The trial continues.
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