A former UK Catholic school teacher who dressed and acted like she was in a “Sabrina Carpenter video” was convicted Friday of sexually assaulting two students nearly four decades ago.
Sally-Anne Bowen, 65, who taught chemistry at Christ’s College in North London, stood with a blank expression as jurors at Harrow Crown Court returned majority guilty verdicts on seven counts of indecent assault. The offenses date to the late 1980s, when the two male accusers were 14 or 15 years old and Bowen was in her mid-20s.
One accuser testified that he had sex with Bowen “about 20 or 30 times” over several months, including encounters at her home. He told the court he considered her his girlfriend and believed he was in love with her at the time.
“I never, ever spoke to anyone about it,” he said in his testimony. “I was always really aware, she drummed it into me. Years she got to teach because I remained silent.”
He also told police that the episode resulted in “the destruction of my education.” The man said he kept their relationship secret because he wanted to protect Bowen, and that she repeatedly told him he was not allowed to tell anybody.
The second accuser alleged that he and Bowen kissed in a cafe after he was “goaded” into it by other boys. He recalled touching her breasts during the encounter.
Bowen denied all allegations, describing them as a “total fabrication” and “the workings of a fantasy.” She maintained she had no idea who the second accuser was, nor why the men were bringing the allegations decades after the incidents.
She denied having any relationship with the first complainant. “Absolutely not, no relationship whatsoever,” she testified, characterizing their connection as strictly “student-teacher.”
Bowen’s classroom attire became a focus during cross-examination. Prosecutors said she had a penchant for wearing “tight tops” and “mini skirts.” She demonstrated the length of her skirts for the jury, placing her hands a few inches above her knees.
“They were way shorter than I’m wearing now, they were not mini skirts,” she claimed, reminding jurors she was a young woman at the time.
“I wasn’t going to dress like Margaret Thatcher,” she added, referring to the former UK prime minister.
Another former student testified that Bowen would act as if she was in “a Sabrina Carpenter video” while in the classroom. The witness said she “dressed and behaved more like my teenage female friends than the other teachers.”
One pupil recalled for the jury an incident in her classroom where a boy was reading a “sex manual” — possibly the Kama Sutra — which he claimed Bowen flipped through while extolling “the merits of different sexual positions” to the students.
“I have never in my teaching career seen boys looking at a pornographic magazine – the only magazine that I ever confiscated was a football magazine,” Bowen testified.
In the viral moment that captured international attention, the Sabrina Carpenter comparison spread rapidly across social media as users reacted to the unusual courtroom testimony. The reference to the 25-year-old pop singer’s music videos — known for their playful, flirtatious aesthetic — provided a startling modern frame for allegations dating back to the late Thatcher era. The contrast between Bowen’s self-described youthful style and the prosecution’s portrait of predatory behavior fueled online discussion of how teacher-student boundaries were understood and enforced in 1980s Britain.
Bowen will remain free on bail until her sentencing hearing in London on Nov. 20.