- Fiona Bowden, 50, denies 12 charges of assaulting teenage girl in 2000s
- An Oxford Crown Court jury will begin considering its verdict on Monday
A Girl Guides leader had sex with a 15-year-old schoolgirl for almost two years, a court heard.
Fiona Bowden, 50, is accused of 12 offenses against the girl who suffered from psychological problems.
The offenses are alleged to have taken place in the early 2000s, when the girl was 15 years old.
The jury is expected to begin deliberating on Monday.
Prosecutor John Benson told the jury: “This case involves allegations of sexual abuse… between a girl who was 15 years old when the abuse began and an adult female who abused her, who was about 12 years older than the girl.”
Fiona Bowden, pictured outside Oxford Crown Court, denies six counts of indecency with a child, four counts of sexual activity with a child and two counts of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.
The court heard Bowden’s husband was in the room when she allegedly assaulted the girl for the first time.
The court heard the girl had suffered psychological difficulties apparently arising from an incident when she was younger.
The jury was told Bowden gave the girl his phone number after she approached him for advice about some problems she was experiencing. The prosecutor said this was, “on the face of it, a friendly and compassionate gesture.”
Benson said the girl then approached Bowden.
The court heard Bowden and the victim became close, evidenced when the Guide leader confided in the girl and said her marriage to her husband was “not good”.
The prosecutor described a night when Bowden and the girl were sitting together on a couch, sharing a blanket. The defendant’s husband, Michael Bowden, was in the same room but on a different couch.
Benson told the jury that Fiona Bowden began rubbing her foot against the girl.
The court heard the contact was sexual in nature and left the girl confused.
Mr Benson said: ‘“That initial sexual contact by the defendant with the girl left her confused, as you can understand,” the prosecutor told the jury.
“After that incident, touching became frequent,” he added.
Benson told the jury that Bowden believed he loved the teenager.
Bowden told the girl how he felt about her and that he loved her. The girl believed this, the court heard.
Mr Benson continued: ‘Sexual intimacy became a regular and frequent part of their lives. It became an almost daily occurrence. The accused had fallen in love with this 15-year-old girl.
The jury is expected to begin considering its verdict at Oxford Crown Court on Monday.
The court heard the plaintiff believed they “loved each other.” After a week of no sexual activity, Bowden told the girl that he missed her and he wanted to kiss her.
The jury was later told that Bowden and his family moved from Didcot, Oxfordshire to west Wales, ending interactions between the defendant and the girl.
Bowden, who now lives in Lampeter, west Wales, attended a police interview in Wales on February 24, 2021.
Benson said: “She denied ever forming a relationship with the girl or that she ever had sexual contact.”
“She mentioned a time when the girl was upset and they stood in front of each other and kissed.”
‘The defendant said it was “a joint decision at the time.”‘
The jury was told the kiss lasted a few seconds and walked away in disbelief it had taken place.
Benson added: “That kiss is an illuminating incident.”
Bowden is charged with six counts of indecency with a child, four counts of sexual activity with a child and two counts of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.
The trial continues at Oxford Crown Court on Monday.