Husband of teacher, 35, accused of sex with schoolboy, 15, tells court: 'We're as strong as ever'

THE husband of a teacher accused of repeatedly romping with a 15-year-old boy pupil today told a court their marriage was as “strong” as ever.

Daniel Barber, 38, said his relationship was fine despite his wife standing trial for straddling the lad in a car then bedding him in a field and woodland.

Mr Barber, a delivery driver, denied marital problems as they struggled to conceive at the time of the alleged sex acts with the lad, adding he had "full faith" in her.

And he told Amersham Law Courts he was unaffected by Kandice Barber’s conviction for sending the boy a video of her surrounded by sex toys.

Instead he said the video had never been produced so he believed his wife’s denial – even though a jury convicted her of sexual communication.

Mr Barber told the court: "Our relationship is how it is today, it has never changed. We have always been good and we have always been strong."

He added: "When my wife is on the phone, I am not one of those people who constantly looks at her to see who she is on the phone to. I have full faith in her."

The husband was asked: "This jury is aware and you are too Mr Barber, that your wife was convicted of sending a video of herself masturbating, to a pupil at the school. Is that something that surprises you?"

"Yeah, because there is no video", Mr Barber replied.

He added: "There was no evidence of a video, so I cannot react to something I cannot see."

Asked about his wife's conviction for sexual communication he said: "Again, photos were there but there was no evidence that my wife had sent those photos."

The court heard Mr Barber had two children from a previous relationship and his wife had three. He denied his wife had been unhappy in their relationship.

Prosecutor Richard Milne said: "Forgive me Mr Barber, I do not mean to pry unnecessarily but there are matters that this jury have to consider.

"In the period September to October 2018, you were trying for a baby and Mrs Barber was quite organised about this sort of thing.

“Just dealing with it as plainly as I can, that meant that on certain occasions, sexual intercourse needed to take place."

Mr Barber said there was no pressure on their sex lives, adding: "We did not have a schedule.

“We did not see it like that. Whenever we decided that we wanted to make love, we would make love and if it happened, it happened."

The court heard Barber had Googled "good secluded areas", which prosecutors say was a plan to find places to have sex with the boy, he defendant claimed was for walking.

Mr Barber said he and his wife regularly walked their bull mastiff in woodland near their home but he said Kandice had never told him she was looking for new walking spots.

Barber had also carried out an internet search for "Holiday Inn Wycombe", which it was suggested on her behalf was to find a place for her son to meet his biological father.

Mr Barber said the couple had been planning to foster, saying the subject was "close to my wife's heart" because Kandice's step-father had been fostered.

However, the couple had put the plans on hold as they focused on their intentions to have a child of their own.

Mr Barber told the jury his wife of four hears had been his "rock" during her last trial.

Kandice Barber, 35, of Wendover, Bucks., denies three counts of causing or inciting a child aged under 16 years to engage in a sexual act.

The trial continues.

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