Holly Rouse-Sweeney: Six years in jail for maths tutor who abused boy

A maths tutor has been jailed for sexually abusing a teenage boy she taught after travelling more than 100 miles to meet him.

Holly Rouse-Sweeney, 37, tutored the boy online before organising to meet him at her former Nottinghamshire home, where they had sexual contact on several occasions.

Nottinghamshire Police said Rouse-Sweeney, who lives in Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, knew her victim was under the age of consent.

Police were called in May last year when the boy’s mother found inappropriate WhatsApp messages from Rouse-Sweeney on his phone. Further incriminating evidence was found following her arrest when officers uncovered diary entries on her laptop.

In the notes, she detailed her abuse of the boy and even referenced his age. She later pleaded guilty to two counts of engaging in non-penetrative sexual activity with a boy and four counts of causing a boy to engage in sexual activity.

Rouse-Sweeney claimed in Nottingham Crown Court that her actions were influenced by a long-standing mental health condition, but she was jailed for six years.

She was added to the sex offenders’ register, made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order and handed a restraining order forbidding her from any future contact with her victim.

Detective Constable Keeley Bringhurst, a child abuse specialist at Nottinghamshire Police, said: ‘This was an appalling breach of trust by a woman who had been trusted to spend time with a vulnerable child. Instead of teaching him mathematics, she cynically took advantage of him for her own sexual gratification.

‘I know this abuse has had a significant impact on the victim and his family, and I hope they will be comforted by this very strong sentence.’

The conviction comes just weeks after another maths teacher, Rebecca Joynes, 30, was jailed for six-and-a-half years after getting pregnant by one pupil while on bail for having sex with another.