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Jun 2024
Ex-teacher from Ripon jailed for having sex with 10-year-old boy
A former teaching assistant from Ripon has been jailed for sexually abusing a young boy.
Denise Povall, who is now 61, groomed the boy by buying him gifts and sending texts so she could carry out an “evil and sustained campaign of sexual exploitation”.
Povall, who pleaded not guilty to the charges, appeared at York Crown Court for sentencing today.
The offences took place in the 2000s, during which she was working at a school in the Harrogate district.
North Yorkshire Police said in a statement Povall had sexual intercourse with the child and performed sex acts on him on a “number of occasions”.
The victim, whose life has since been “deeply affected”, reported the offences to the police as an adult, which led to an investigation into the teaching assistant and midday supervisor.
Police said:
During police interviews, Povall point-blank denied any offences had taken place.
However, detectives in North Yorkshire Police’s non-recent abuse investigation team compiled a case that resulted in her being charged with a number of serious offences including grooming, inciting sex with a child, inciting sexual activity with a child and sexual assault by touching.
Povall was sentenced to eight years in prison and ordered to sign the sex offenders’ register upon her release.
Detective constable Alison Morris, who led the investigation, 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 sorts of crimes.
She added child sexual abuse was “under-reported” due to the way paedophiles groom and manipulate their victims.
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.
You can speak to us any time on 101, report it through our website or speak to Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. You’ll also find more information about the support available to you on our website.
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