'Evil' teaching assistant who had sex with boy, 10, after she groomed him during a sickening campaign of abuse is jailed for eight years
An 'evil' Yorkshire teaching assistant who had sex with a 10-year-old boy after grooming him in a sickening campaign of abuse has been put behind bars for eight years.
Denise Povall, now 61, from Ripon bought the boy gifts and sent him texts before attacking him and performing sex acts on him.
North Yorkshire Police said she carried out an 'evil and sustained' campaign of sexual exploitation.
The sickening abuse took place in the 2000s when she worked at a primary school in the Harrogate area.
Police say Povall still has taken 'absolutely no accountability' for her sick offending, which the victim said has deeply affected his life and was only revealed after he came forward as an adult.
Denise Povall, 61, from Ripon, Yorkshire has been jailed for eight years after sexually abusing a ten-year-old boy
The former teaching assistant sent the boy gifts and text messages before performing sex acts on him in the early 2000s. He only came forward as an adult
During police interviews, Povall was said to have denied any offences had taken place, but a case was compiled against her and resulted in her being found guilty of offences including grooming, inciting sex with a child, inciting sexual activity with a child and sexual assault by touching.
She was jailed on Friday at York Crown Court. After the hearing, Detective Constable Alison Morris, who led the investigation for North Yorkshire Police, said: 'This has been a long and extensive investigation into some of the most serious types of offences we encounter as detectives.
'What we uncovered can only be described as evil and sustained sexual abuse of a young child by a paedophile.
'Povall has taken absolutely no accountability for the damage she has done to her victim's life, so I'm glad we've been able to help the victim secure some sort of closure.
'He's been incredibly brave coming forward, especially given the common misconception that women don't commit these sort of crimes. Due to the way paedophiles such as Povall groom, manipulate and control their victims, we know child sexual abuse is under-reported.
'So I want anyone who thinks they may have been sexually assaulted - no matter how long ago it happened - to know they can come forward. We have specially-trained officers and we work with organisations that provide excellent practical and emotional support.'
