A 'MEEK' Worcester single mum who had sex with a 15-year-old boy was not ruled to be 'a danger' to children in law.

Nicola Holton, aged 36, was jailed for four years at Worcester Crown Court last Friday after she engaged in sexual activity with the boy.

Now we can bring you fresh details from the case, including that the widow herself at one stage contacted the police, fearing things had got 'out of control'.

"She talks about a situation that was getting out of hand" said her barrister, Fiona Elder. Holton had also had sex with a 17-year-old boy but the Crown chose not pursue the matter.

However, Miss Elder accepted that her client's decision to come forward involved 'some degree of self-protection because of rumours' that were circulating in Worcester.

Holton of Willis Place, St John's, Worcester, who had been of previous good character, kissed and then performed sex acts on the boy in her bedroom and also sent him sexual messages between August 31 and October 10 last year.

In total she admitted two counts of sexual activity with a child and one of sexual communication with a child. She had already been in custody on remand for six months when she came to be sentenced.

Judge Nicolas Cartwright, who sentenced her for what he described as her seduction of the boy, said: "I'm not satisfied there is a basis for making a finding of dangerousness."

However, a sexual harm prevention order and restraining order, both made for an indefinite period, provide the police with additional powers to control her use of the internet and and social media and place restrictions on her contact with children and the boy she abused.

The court heard how Holton had worked in childcare and had also earned a diploma and, as a mother of-two boys herself, 'should have known a good deal better'.

Caroline Harris, prosecuting, said: "This is a defendant who uses social media to contact those involved in her offending. That is the concern of the Crown."

She placed the offences within category 1A of the guidelines, arguing that the abuse was aggravated by the 'significant disparity in age' and 'grooming behaviour'.

Fiona Elder, defending, said: "She understands that, whatever her personal circumstances at that time and whatever difficulties she was coping with, she was the adult and he was the child. It was she who crossed that line."

Miss Elder added: "She clearly shows distress and shame for what happened."

Judge Nicolas Cartwright explained that it was an aggravating feature of the case that Holton had committed another sexual offence against the same boy after the first. He added: "This was a repetition."

He took into account that she had been remanded in custody before sentence while subject to Covid-19 restrictions. As previously reported, inmates have had to spend more than 23 hours in their cells.

However, he also observed that her offending had taken place between August and October last year when the country was in the midst of the pandemic and that this consideration carried less weight for longer custodial sentences.

The judge also took into account her 'dependent personality traits' and her late 'alcoholic husband who was also controlling'. She had been divorced from him before his death in late 2018.

However, he observed that she had carried out the sexual offending despite her 'anxiety'.

He said: "You are described by a psychologist as meek and unassertive. That was certainly not the case with this 15-year-old victim. Any mitigation arising from your anxiety, depression and personality carries some but very little weight."

Judge Cartwright also gave her a 25 per cent discount in the length of the custodial element of the sentence to reflect her guilty pleas at the earliest opportunity at crown court.

Guilty pleas indicated at the magistrates court attract an even higher discount of one third. The defendant did not indicate a plea at the preliminary hearing at the magistrates court.