An update on the story | Lucky Boy
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Hello, I'm Chloe Hedgermetho. I'm a narrative editor at The Observer and the host of the Tortoise Investigates podcast, Lucky Boy. I'm popping up here to say thank you all for continuing to listen and to support Tortoise Investigates from The Observer.

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Hey, this is Chloe from Tortoise Investigates. I'm the host of Lucky Boy, coming to you now from our new home, The Observer. If you haven't listened to Lucky Boy yet, you can do that right here on Tortoise Investigates. But if you have, then keep listening because I've got an important update. This isn't really a full episode, but I just wanted to let you know what's been happening with this story.

If you remember in the final episode of Lucky Boy, I told you how the Teaching Regulation Agency, the TRA, banned Sally-Ann Bowen from teaching again. What I couldn't tell you back then, for legal reasons, is that while I was carrying out my own investigation, the Metropolitan Police decided to reopen theirs. So we were kind of investigating separately but in parallel.

I've kept in contact with the detectives in charge of the case and I've been following what they've been up to. And in May, they let me know they'd reached a decision. They were going to charge Sally-Ann Bowen. She was given a date towards the end of the month to appear in court and so I went along. I'm actually standing outside Wilsdon Magistrates Court. Earlier I was in the public gallery and watched as Sally-Ann Bowen appeared in the dock.

to have the charges read out against her, which are indecent assaults against two boys under the age of 16. She sort of shook her head in disbelief as those charges were read to her. And then she pled not guilty. And that means the case is now going to go to the Crown Court. It will probably take a bit of time before that happens. So I'm obviously going to be following this case all the way through the courts.

But now that it's an active criminal process, I'm very restricted as to what I can say here, particularly because there's likely to be a jury who will hear evidence and they should make their decision based only on what they hear in court. So after this update, I'm going to go quiet for a bit. And the next time you'll hear from me is going to be when the case actually starts in the Crown Court. And given the backlog in the legal system in Britain right now, that might be a while.

But it's going to be worth waiting for. Gareth has been waiting a very long time. The point is, this story isn't over. In the meantime, we'll be launching a brand new investigative series here on Tortoise Investigates in late July. I can't tell you any more than that yet, but keep your ears peeled. Tortoise. Tortoise.