Leeds woman sexually assaulted boy after Prosecco session
A woman sexually assaulted a teenage boy after she had been downing Prosecco, a court heard.
Claire McDermott kissed the boy on the lips then put her hand on his thigh and moved it towards his groin.
The 42-year-old initially denied any wrongdoing but admitted her guilt to two counts of sexual assault on the day her trial was due to start at Leeds Crown Court.
She returned to court this week for sentencing.
Prosecuting the case, Nick Adlington said the incident had happened almost three years ago, when McDermott was 39, but further details cannot be disclosed to protest the identity of the boy.
However, she had given him some of her Prosecco but it made him feel sick. She then rubbed his back and shoulders.
She was told he was only 15, but she made “inappropriate” comments, Mr Adlington added.
McDermott then kissed him and put her hand on his thigh. The police were called after the boy’s mother was alerted to what took place.
McDermott, of Moseley Beck Avenue, Tinshill, was arrested but claimed the allegations were malicious.
The court was told that she is lightly convicted with no offences reported for more than a decade.
Mitigating, Andrew Semple said: “The root cause is not a sexual drive, but the impact of excessive drinking.
“She is mortified by being here.”
Judge Kate Rayfield told McDermott that she had shown an insight into her drinking and the consequences, and had sought help.
She gave her an 18-month community order with a nine-month alcohol treatment requirement.
She was also put on the sex offender register for five years and given a five-year sexual harm prevention order (SHPO).