Careworker sentenced for relationship with teenage boy

A care worker who started a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old boy at a children’s residential home where she worked has been sentenced.

Alysha Friel, 26, of Grangemoor in Runcorn began a relationship with the boy and pursued it over a period of four months.

The two had become friendly over shared interests and things intensified. Friel kissed the boy and exchanged messages via social media of a sexual nature with him. They eventually engaged in sexual activity.

The boy asked for the activity to stop and wanted Friel to leave the home. He told another member of staff what had been happening. Friel was suspended and the police launched an investigation into the allegations.

She was arrested and questioned by officers. She said that she knew it was wrong and that things had gone too far, but she had convinced herself that the two had become friends and she had romantic feelings for him.

She was charged with 10 counts of Adult Abuse of a Position of Trust; Sexual Activity with a Boy. She pleaded guilty to all counts at Liverpool Magistrates' Court on 10 March 2023.

She was sentenced on 6 April 2023 at Liverpool Crown Court to 20 months imprisonment, suspended for 18 months.  She must complete 35 days of rehabilitation activity and 100 hours of unpaid work. She must pay £300 costs and has been placed on the Sexual Offenders Register for 10 years.

Senior Crown Prosecutor Sarah Egan, a specially trained prosecutor with CPS Mersey Cheshire’s Rape and Serious Sexual Offences (RASSO) unit, said: “Friel has abused her position of trust, and has engaged in a completely inappropriate relationship with the victim. 

“Irrespective of the victim being at the age of consent, and the consensual nature of the sexual activity, she still pursued a relationship with the victim for her own gain, disregarding his welfare. She had undertaken training around safeguarding and was fully aware of what was expected of her in terms of her behaviour, and compliance with the rules/code of conduct of the home. She chose to disregard all of that.

“Her early guilty pleas, however, have avoided a trial which is a positive outcome for the victim, and Friel has demonstrated remorse and accountability for her actions.

“We would like to thank the victim, the witnesses and the prosecution team for their assistance in this case, and hope the victim is able to put this behind him and look to the future.

“We would like to remind the public that offences of this nature are taken extremely seriously and will be prosecuted within the full extent of the law. We would like to encourage anyone who has been a victim of crime to come forward.”