Youth custody officer, 26, who sent explicit messages to ‘vulnerable’ 15-year-old boy and encouraged him to touch her breasts at a ‘secure training centre’ is jailed for two years
- Ashley Wright was sentenced to jail for abusing a position of trust while working
- She previously admitted to encouraging the boy to touch her breasts
- Wright has been sentenced to two years and two months in jail for her crimes
A youth custody officer who admitted to sending messages to a ‘vulnerable’ 15-year-old boy and encouraging him to touch her breasts at a secure training centre has been jailed for two years and two months.
Ashley Wright, 26, was sentenced at Kingston-upon-Thames Crown Court for abusing a position of trust to incite the child to engage in sexual activity while she was working as a secure care officer at the Buckinghamshire unit.
She had previously admitted this offence, along with sexual touching and engaging in sexual communications with a child.
The charges relate to a 15-year-old boy, who cannot legally be identified, between May 13 and December 31, 2019.
Ashley Wright (pictured outside Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court in March), 26, was sentenced at Kingston-upon-Thames Crown Court for abusing a position of trust to incite the child to engage in sexual activity while she was working as a secure care officer at the Buckinghamshire unit
Wright appeared in the dock for her sentencing on Tuesday wearing a black blazer and trousers with a white blouse and black face covering.
She was jailed for two years and two months and ordered to sign on the sex offenders’ register for 10 years.
Patrick Duffy, prosecuting, said one of Wright’s colleagues had noticed Wright and the boy engaging in inappropriate behaviour in front of other children at the facility, including ‘inappropriately touching each other’s thighs underneath a desk’.
He added that when the colleague confronted her, Wright told them: ‘I’m not doing anything wrong’.
Another child at the centre also complained that Wright ‘treated him differently’ to the victim by allowing the victim to bully him, which Mr Duffy said was ‘a result of their sexual relationship’.
Speaking about the victim, Mr Duffy said: ‘He was a vulnerable child and she was employed to care for him and obviously there is a breach of trust there.’
She had previously admitted this offence, along with sexual touching and engaging in sexual communications with a child
He told the court that photographs of the victim touching Wright’s naked breasts and of them kissing, along with an eight-page ‘love letter’ were found during a police search of her home in September 2020.
Defence lawyer James Francis Keeley described Wright as a ‘hard-working young woman’ who was ‘deeply ashamed’ of her behaviour.
He told the court: ‘What makes this an unusual and exceptional case is the defendant is 26 years of age, of previous good character, and has genuine, heartfelt remorse for what she has done and the breach of trust she has caused in this case.’
Judge Rajeev Shetty said her sentence had been reduced by one-third due to Wright entering early guilty pleas, but he had also considered the fact she continued the relationship with the victim while under police investigation.
Speaking about the victim, Judge Shetty told the court: ‘You had responsibility for his welfare and safety.
‘Instead of safeguarding these things, you had a sexual relationship with him.’
He added: ‘The period of time over which offences continued is very significant.
‘Despite being under investigation, you continued the relationship, and levels of intimacy increased rather than decreased.’
Wright, from Wigston, Leicestershire, had entered guilty pleas at a hearing at Wimbledon Magistrates’ Court in May.
Kate Shilton, from the CPS, said: ‘Ashley Wright abused her position of trust by carrying out a relationship with a 15-year-old boy in her care.
‘As an adult at a secure training facility for children, Wright failed in the responsibility entrusted in her to look after the victim. Her actions were concerning, predatory and illegal.
‘The prosecution case included topless images of Wright kissing the teenager along with messages of a sexual nature between the pair.
‘The CPS will always seek to prosecute sexual offenders where there is the evidence to do so.’
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