August 2023

Mum-of-five enticed boy, 14, to her home before having sex with him

A mother-of-five who repeatedly sexually abused a vulnerable schoolboy has been jailed.

Deborah Taylor was 33 years old when she began using her home as a ‘doss house’ to entice impressionable youngsters.

Her victim, a 14-year-old boy, would attend the property with school friends to drink and smoke cannabis.

The court heard how one night Taylor asked the boy to stay the night and sleep in her bed.

This led to intercourse and they began to meet more for further sexual activity

The victim initially kept quiet but went to police in January 2020 saying: ”I went back to hers after a party and effectively didn’t leave for years.”

In a statement, he added: ”Now I can’t understand why she would be interested in a relationship with an under 18-year-old. I have spent the last few years regretting everything that happened to me. I was robbed of a childhood.

“I feel depressed and question myself all the time now. I was just a boy, and she knew it was wrong. I was vulnerable and she took full advantage of this.”

Now Taylor, of Thomasson Close, Bolton, is 62 years old and a grandmother.

At Bolton Crown Court, she was jailed for two years after admitting indecent assault and was also issued with an indefinite restraining order banning her from contacting the victim. She was also ordered to sign the Sex Offender Register for ten years.

Taylor changed her plea to guilty in June of this year. She had previous convictions for assault, shoplifting and supplying cannabis.

The court heard that when a child the victim developed a drinking and cannabis habit due to often having no heating or food.

Nicholas Clarke, prosecuting, said: “He and other children of his age would also often attend Deborah Taylor’s address. According to them it was ‘doss house’. When the complainant was 14, he was persuaded to stay the night by the defendant.

“This inevitably meant sleeping with her in her bed. This led to the pair developing a relationship with each other, acting as partners and having regular sexual intercourse. At the start of their relationship the defendant would have been 33 years old. She had five children at the time.

“At the time, social services were aware that he was living at the house, but they did not realise that the only place he could have been sleeping was her bed. He said there was always food and heating available at the defendant’s house and he had a sense of stability there. However, by being in the relationship he was deprived of his childhood, of making friends and exploring the world.”

When interviewed by Greater Manchester Police in February 2020, Taylor admitted to being in a relationship with the victim. Mr Clarke added: “She described it as a perfectly normal relationship and that he would come round to play. She never admitted to having sexual intercourse with him before the age of 18.“

In sentencing, Judge Martin Walsh told Taylor: “You effectively groomed the complainant into a sexual relationship. He was extremely vulnerable by virtue of the neglect he endured as a child.

“Unquestionably, you took advantage of him at that time. Although I do not deem you to be a risk to the public I cannot ignore the harm that was done by the offending. It was not isolated but rather occurred across a long period of time.”