By Grâçia Ada Obi
A United Kingdom (UK) woman has been sentenced to seven-and-a-half years for child sex abuse offences. This came following the discovery of videos of the abuses that she had created.
Nichole Pratt, 25, of Foster Crescent, Leominster, United Kingdom (UK) pleaded guilty to causing or inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity and two counts of sexual assault of a child under 13. She was also handed a sexual harm prevention order.
Pratt, who appeared before Hereford Crown Court earlier this week (Tuesday March 4), will also be put on licence for five years after her release. She was charged in August 2024 and pleaded guilty to the offences in September 2024.
Her offences were discovered when Police received an anonymous tip that Pratt had subjected two children to sexual abuse and had created videos of the offences.
When Pratt was arrested, her phone and a USB stick were seized. The USB stick was found to contain category A videos of Pratt sexually abusing one child, while her phone contained videos of her sexually abusing another child.
When she was interviewed under caution, she denied any involvement in the offences. However, due to the overwhelming evidence against her, she later changed her plea to guilty at her plea and trial preparation hearing on 16 September 2024.
Angela Trafford, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “This was a truly harrowing and disturbing case. Nichole Pratt systematically abused two vulnerable young children in what can only be described as the most serious form of sexual abuse.
“The children concerned put their trust in Pratt. By her actions she has shown a flagrant disregard for that trust for her own gratification.
“The sentence handed down will hopefully act as a deterrent and send a message to the public that such cases are taken extremely seriously by the police, Crown Prosecution Service and ultimately the court.”
Detective Inspector Julie Taylor, of Hereford’s Protecting Vulnerable People (PVP) team, said: “This was a particularly harrowing case which was disturbing for our officers to deal with, but we are pleased to see this custodial sentence for Pratt which recognises the seriousness of her vile behaviour.
“I would like to thank the whole PVP team and our digital forensics team for their efforts in achieving justice for the victims in this case and for their resilience in securing this result at court today.”
