A Penrith woman who had sex with a schoolboy multiple times has been jailed for more than two years.
Sophie Hindmarch, then aged 26, and the 14-year-old began swapping messages on Snapchat with general conversation escalating to the exchange of sexualised images and videos, Carlisle Crown Court was told this afternoon.
They met at her home to smoke and first had sex after Hindmarch – now 27 – told the boy: “You’ve left your lighter upstairs.” Sexual intercourse occurred around a dozen times in total with one encounter filmed on her mobile phone at the teen’s request.
Police were alerted after the boy admitted what had happened. In a statement, his dad spoke of the impact on all the family. “I am worried about (him) once this is all over. Clearly this has affected him,” he stated. “In my eyes, whether she was going through a bad time or not, she still knew his age.” He added: “People have sometimes laughed it off but it was completely wrong.”
Mother-of-three Hindmarch, previously of Penrith, admitted nine charges of sexual activity with a child.
Judge Andrew Jefferies QC observed there was “substantial mitigation”, and that Hindmarch had been diagnosed with complex post-traumatic stress disorder following a period of significant domestic violence.
“You ended an abusive relationship,” Judge Jefferies said as he jailed Hindmarch for 32 months.
“It seems that as well as going through a period of self destruct, you sought comfort in a wholly inappropriate place, namely a 14-year-old boy.
Hindmarch must sign the sex offenders’ register and abide by the strict terms of a sexual harm prevention order indefinitely, and her case will be reported to the barring authorities.
