A Cornwall Paedophile, Lucy Hambley, has been incarcerated after exploiting a 13-year-old child by befriending him and subsequently coercing him into sexual acts. Lucy Hambley, 40, exhibited reprehensible behaviour by promoting the consumption of alcohol and smokes to the victim, resulting in his suicidal feelings and efforts to take his own life.
Cornwall Live reports that Truro Crown Court revealed the misconduct was exposed when a neighbour visited Lucy Hambley’s residence to address noise complaints and observed both the victim and defendant in casual attire with hickeys. The neighbour subsequently referred the matter to Childline.
Lucy Hambley in court for sentence after admitting guilt to four counts of engaging in sexual behaviour with a minor. During the prosecution, Heather Hope recounted the initial encounter between the victim and Lucy Hambley, which occurred when he discovered her engaged in gardening activities. He extended his assistance to her, which he perceived as the commencement of a friendship.
Miss Hope said: “On one occasion there was a sleepover and everything was fine. But next time she said, ‘I wish I had you in my bedroom’. She offered to look after him and got him into drinking and smoking even though he didn’t enjoy it.
“The relationship changed soon after and she started to treat him as an adult partner. The friendship lasted four weeks and then things changed. He confided in her that he was gay and she walked him into the bedroom and said she was going to prove he was straight before snogging him on the bed.”
Miss Hope described how the following week it progressed into full sex, with Lucy Hambley getting on top of the victim. She added: “She didn’t put a condom on him and told him she wanted to get pregnant by him which scared him. She smacked him for playfighting. She would offer him alcohol and tobacco to go round.”
Miss Hope spoke of how Hambley, of Mount Charles in St Austell, would use sexual terms the youngster wouldn’t understand and that she would show him naked pictures of herself. He was often dragged into her bedroom.
Teachers had noticed a downturn in the victim’s behaviour at school and he eventually confided in his mother and a youth centre worker telling them what happened. In a victim impact statement the teenager spoke of attempting to end his life. He said: “I can’t go one day without crying and she has destroyed me and my self-worth. I feel useless, worthless and stupid.”
In mitigation, Rupert Taylor spoke of how Lucy Hambley has no previous convictions and entered early guilty pleas. He said: “She is ashamed of her behaviour. She was lonely and unhappy and suffering from anxiety and depression.”
Sentencing Lucy Hambley, Judge Anna Richardson went through how Lucy Hambley began by grooming the victim, before sexualising the relationship and repeatedly taking him to the bedroom, lying him on the bed and coaching him through intercourse.
She said: “You told him not to tell anyone and repeatedly contacted him by phone to request he visited you. You showed him naked pictures of yourself you posted on dating sites and this all happened regularly. He didn’t want to see you but you continued to pursue him.”
Judge Richardson proceeded to outline the devastating effect the crimes had on the victim before noting Lucy Hambley’s difficulties and that she herself was abused as a child. She said: “The pre-sentence report makes worrying reading and in it you attempt to place blame on your victim but you, Lucy Hambley, were the adult and in position of control and you abused it.”
Lucy Hambley was jailed for seven and a half years and was in tears as she left the dock.
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