Penrith mum-of-three jailed over sex with schoolboy

Sophie Hindmarch recorded one of the incidents on her mobile phone

A woman who had sex with a schoolboy after swapping messages on Snapchat has been jailed.

Contact between Sophie Hindmarch, then aged 26, and the 14-year-old escalated to include sexualised images and videos, Carlisle Crown Court heard.

The mother-of-three, previously of Penrith, Cumbria, had admitted nine charges of sexual activity with a child at an earlier hearing.

She was given a 32-month sentence and must sign the Sex Offenders' Register.

The pair first had sex after meeting at Hindmarch's home when she told the boy: "You've left your lighter upstairs."

The abuse took place in late 2019 and one incident was filmed on her mobile phone.

Police were alerted after the boy admitted what had happened.

'Wholly inappropriate'

In a statement, his father said he was worried about the long-term impact on his son and described Hindmarch's actions as "completely wrong".

"I am worried about [him] once this is all over. Clearly this has affected him," he said.

Judge Andrew Jefferies QC said there was "substantial mitigation" and that Hindmarch, who is now 27, had been diagnosed with a complex post-traumatic stress disorder after being the victim of domestic violence.

"You ended an abusive relationship," Judge Jefferies said. "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."

Det Con Emma Armstrong, of Cumbria Police, said Hindmarch "was aware that what she was doing was wrong" and had told the boy to delete their messages.

She had denied the offences when interviewed by officers before pleading guilty in court.