'Immature' woman, 40, who squeezed teenage boy's bottom avoids jail

An 'immature' mother who repeatedly groped a teenage boy has been spared jail after a woman judge ruled she was not sexually attracted to children.

Julie Winnard was charged with four allegations of sexual assault after the boy, 15, told a social worker of his 'uncomfortable' encounters with her over a 13 month period.

He claimed Winnard, then 40, slapped and squeezed his bottom as he bent down to pick up a dog bowl and also made inappropriate comments towards him as friends looked on.

Winnard also allegedly kissed him on the cheek whilst grabbing his bottom and further tried to kiss him on the lips.

At Bolton Crown Court, the former hairdresser, now 44, faced six months in jail under sentencing guidelines after she admitted two of the charges.

But she was given a 12-month community order with 20 days of rehabilitation activity and a 12-month mental health requirement.

The two remaining charges were allowed to lie on file. She initially denied wrongdoing.

In sentencing, Judge Abigail Hudson told Winnard: 'I do not consider for a moment that you are sexually attracted to children. Your behaviour was immature, insensitive, likely to be intimidating and frankly it was offensive.

'But I do not consider that a restraining order or a sexual harm prevention order is necessary or proportionate. The reality is that there has been no further incident since this incident and everybody has moved on.'

She added: 'The victim was 15 when he came into contact with you. I acknowledge that you and he were part of a larger group of friends but you knew he was a child. On two occasions you slapped his bottom or squeezed it, deliberately making him feel uncomfortable.

'Numerous others were present. They did not object. They found it reasonably amusing. Nobody objected until your relationship with the victim's family had deteriorated.

'You had denied any responsibility for offending - however, I accept that you were speaking out of embarrassment rather than any refusal to accept responsibility for what you did.

'The mental health assessment is a sad state of affairs. You have significant mental health difficulties and your life has been peppered with loss and domestic violence committed against you. You are desperately in need of support for your mental health.'

Earlier the court heard how the pair came into contact with each other in 2020 when the unnamed boy met Winnard through his sister.

Philip Barnes, prosecuting said: 'They were all part of a group of friends who would regularly socialise together. The victim described Miss Winnard using words of affection towards him and made comments which made him feel uncomfortable and awkward.

'On two occasions both in the defendant's flat and the home of another he was subjected to having his bottom slapped by the defendant or having his buttocks squeezed. It was witnessed by others in their social group.

'They also heard the defendant making sexualised or inappropriate comments to the victim which made both them and the victim uncomfortable.

'The victim moved away to live with his grandmother and was assisted by children's services. He disclosed about what had happened and details were passed to police and the defendant was arrested.

'She denied the offences and said they were lies. The case has taken its time to reach its way through the court as the defendant elected to be tried by jury.'

The court heard the boy, now 19, had declined to give a victim personal statement.

In mitigation Winnard's counsel Paul Treble said: 'She does have some mental health difficulties so she find it hard to talk about it what happened.

'But she accepts committing the offences and is certainly remorseful. She regrets what she has done and won't do it again. She is crying out for assistance. The victim is happy and has moved on. It was three years ago.'

Winnard was also ordered to sign the Sex Offenders' Register for five years.