The court heard that before the first incident, Bancroft gave him a strong mixture of rum and juice.

Prosecutor Richard Walters said the boy had little sexual knowledge, did not properly understand what was happening and remained frozen in shock.

Judge Simon Hickey said there had clearly been grooming and that Bancroft had planned the abuse.

The consequences for the victim and his family have been profound.

His mother told the court she had repeatedly intervened to stop her son taking his own life. She described the damage to his education, his ability to maintain employment and his wellbeing.

For years, he kept the abuse secret. He began speaking about it after police attended an incident in which he had tried to take his life.

Another year passed before he felt able to give a police statement.

His mother described a family living with constant fear for his safety and said Bancroft had shown no remorse.

Bancroft entered guilty pleas to some charges on September 4. Other charges were left on file and did not result in convictions.

The court heard the she had tried to kill herself the day before she was due to stand trial in September 2025. The trial was relisted for this year.

Alongside the prison sentence, the judge imposed a 15-year sexual harm prevention order, prohibiting Bancroft from contacting the victim, posting about him on social media or having unsupervised contact with any boy.