Female music teacher, 36, 'was very drunk and slurring her words at sixth-form party when she groped

A female music teacher was ‘slurring her words’ and being ‘very touchy with everyone’ after turning up a sixth-form party where she was accused of groping and kissing a 15-year-old boy, a court heard today.

Emma Ginger, 36 of Thame, Buckinghamshire, appeared in Aylesbury Crown Court to deny two counts of sexual activity with a child under the age of 16 years after the court was told she intentionally touched the student, who cannot be named for legal reasons, twice in July 17, 2021, at a sixth-form party.

The court heard on Wednesday from two girls who were also at the party, both of whom said they were shocked to hear that the boy had been sexually molested by the teacher who was allegedly seen putting her arm around the body. 

She is accused then of putting her hand on his thigh and squeezing his genitals from outside his clothing.

The prosecution claims that the Head of Music at a school in Buckinghamshire became ‘huggy and touchy’ after getting drunk, before physically touching the teen and telling him she would ‘lose her job’ for what she was doing.

Emma Ginger (pictured) is accused of touching a 15-year-old boy twice at a sixth form party in July 2021

Ginger denies two charges of sexual activity with a child under the age of 16 at Aylesbury Crown Court (pictured)

Witness A, who also cannot be named for legal reasons, gave evidence from the witness box at Aylesbury Crown Court on Wednesday. She described the defendant as ‘being like her best friend’ before the incidents happened.

She described Ginger speaking about her own mother’s cancer diagnosis with her, adding: ‘I never had any issues or felt uncomfortable at the time… I can look back now and understand that the relationship I had with her was not a normal relationship for a student and teacher to have.’

The clearly upset witness told the jury that she was sat next to Ginger and the boy victim on a sofa before moving upstairs to help a friend get a glass of water.

The court heard that when she went back downstairs, the 15-year-old boy and Ginger had moved outside and were underneath a gazebo.

She said: ‘I could see that she was being affectionate with him in the sense that she had her arm around him. That didn’t pose any concern to me at that time, hence why I thought it would be okay to leave the room at that time.

‘He then told me that Emma had kissed him and that he didn’t want anyone to know. I was initially shocked but in a sense it didn’t surprise me from her behaviour that evening. I felt I should have known.

‘I was shocked but I wasn’t particularly surprised – however, I was angry.

‘He just looked kind of numb, he didn’t have any emotion on his face. There was nothing behind his eyes.’

Witness A described the defendant asking why she was leaving the party.

She added: ‘I couldn’t look at her and I couldn’t speak to her, so I left.’

Witness B told the court that she and the victim ended up being ‘quite close friends’ towards the end of her time at the school.

Speaking of the music teacher the witness said: ‘She was very involved, very looking out for us. She was a very good teacher.

‘I saw her as someone I could go to with anything. She was someone I could trust and go to.’

The witness, who had been at the party with the victim and the defendant on July 17, 2021, told the jury that Ginger turning up to the party did not seem strange as it was the first time they had held anything like that outside of school.

She said of her own drinking that night: ‘I’d had quite a lot but not too much. I was definitely drunk but I don’t remember drinking loads.

‘I don’t remember him (the victim) being particularly drunk but I didn’t spend a whole lot of the night with him.’

However, the witness claimed that Ginger had been very drunk. She said: ‘She was very loud and slurring her words. She was very touchy with everyone.

‘I remembered thinking that she was very drunk in comparison to the other people there.’ 

Witness B said that after the alleged groping incident, she shared a group phone call with the boy and another friend.

She said: ‘He said that she had her hand on his thigh and was groping him in places.

‘He was quite quiet. He was in shock. I knew him quite well and I could tell that he was upset.’

The music teacher allegedly groped the teenager and forcibly kissed him after getting drunk

The witness told the jury that she had seen the defendant a week after the alleged offences. She said that Ginger kept saying ‘I’m sorry’ as Witness B told her that she wanted nothing to do with her anymore.

James McCrindell, defence counsel for Ginger, questioned whether the victim had told her he was alone when the incident happened.

The witness said she couldn’t remember if he had explicitly said or whether she had just assumed it, based on what she had been told.

The hearing continues.

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