Sheffield woman jailed for sexually abusing vulnerable boy when she worked as school nurse

Sherley Bond, aged 66, from Sheffield, was in her 30s when she started having unprotected sex with the youngster while working as a nurse or care assistant at a school in North Yorkshire.

York Crown Court heard that Bond had sex with an under-age teen boy, the complainant, on multiple occasions over a two-year period.

The complainant, who cannot be named for legal reasons, did not report matters until 2020, some three decades after the abuse, because he was worried that he had let the school down and felt an inexplicable guilt.

Bond was charged with seven counts of indecent assaulting a child under 16 years of age but denied all allegations, and a jury found her guilty of all but one count following a trial earlier this year, during which she claimed she only had a ‘vague recollection’ of the complainant.

Trial prosecutor, David Gordon, said that Bond - who was more than twice the boy’s age - had lied about her nursing qualifications to land a job at the school.

The complainant said he did not realise at the time that sexual activity with the adult staff member was illegal and didn’t say anything about it for years because he feared he would be blamed and did not want to let her down.

“(The victim) remembered Sherley Bond to be a care assistant, although he classed her as more of a matron,” said Mr Gordon.

Bond, a mother-of-three, became a school staff member and ‘senior house parent’ by the time the complainant reached his teens.

She had sex with him on ‘multiple occasions,’ either on school premises, at her own home or in her car, the court heard.

Mr Gordon said the victim had carried his own sense of guilt because he ‘regarded Bond as some kind of friend or even a mother figure’.

At the time of the trial in May, Bond was living on Abbeydale Road, Sheffield. She had since moved to Hyde in Greater Manchester, and her registered address is Higham Lane, Hyde.

Defence barrister Patrick Palmer said that Bond, who is also a grandmother, was going through ‘severe’ mental-health problems at the time of the offences and was now in poor health.

Judge Simon Hickey told Bond that she had ‘quite deliberately used your position of trust to abuse this boy’.

“(It happened) in a car, in a motel, on school premises, at your home – all places where this young victim should have felt safe and protected,” he added.

“It’s had a lifelong effect upon him. There was significant planning; there was grooming behaviour. He was a particularly vulnerable child.”

He said that Bond had ‘played up her illness’ in efforts to get the case against her stopped or delayed.

During a September 12 hearing at York Crown Court, Bond was jailed for 10 years, of which she will serve half behind bars before being released on prison licence.

She was also placed on the sex-offenders’ register for 10 years and slapped with a 10-year sexual-harm prevention order to place curbs on her contact with children.

Speaking after the hearing, North Yorkshire Police Detective Constable, Suzanne Hall, said: “At the time of the offences Bond was 19 years older than her victim. She abused her position, taking advantage of a child for her own gratification.

“I’d like to praise the bravery of the victim for coming forward and reporting Bond’s actions. He put his trust and faith in North Yorkshire Police, showing immense courage to work with us and bring Bond to justice.

“This investigation shows it is never too late to make a report to the police and that we take these incidents very seriously. We will do everything we can to explore all lines of enquiry and ensure that these offenders face the consequences of their actions.”