Carer, 44, 'urged boy at kids' home to go missing so they could have night away'
A care worker encouraged a boy at the children's home she worked at to go "missing" so they could later meet up for a night away, a court heard.
Lindy Leah, 44, from Warrington, allegedly "fell in love" with the teen, who she had been assigned to as his key worker. Lindy worked as a deputy manager at the home.
The 44-year-old was said to have worn inappropriate and revealing outfits in his presence and allowed him to sleep in her bed, as well as apparently asking him "for a love bite", the court heard. She however "denies any improper behaviour" and is currently on trial at Liverpool Crown Court.
Jurors were read a series of WhatsApp messages which were exchanged between Leah and the boy yesterday afternoon, Liverpool Echo reports. One one occasion, she told him "proper paranoid" that she had "lost him to a slag" before stating: "If you never met me then your life would be better. I miss you so much. All I want is for me and you to have a night away from everyone, just us. So if I wake up from these tablets and wine, then we will."
Leah then went on to add: "Do you wanna go MSC [missing from care]? I love you so much. Can I book somewhere for me and you on Friday? Red and silky with some balloons and flake. Make sure you get your arse home tonight so you can go missing from care with me without there being meetings."
Graham Pickavance, prosecuting, told the court that "balloons" was a "colloquial term" for the class C drug nitrous oxide. In a further message, Leah told the teen: "Just listened to a song and it made me cry. Stupid love songs. It made me think of you, then it made me cry. I won't be listening to that again. Add me back on Instagram now.
"Why you took me off it? I get paranoid. I find it hard to trust you. I'm just scared you're still talking to her and going to see her. I just can't bear catching you out again. What's the point, because you know I'll find out? I hate her."
In another message, Leah said: "I wanted to give you the chance to apologise to me before I left. I can't do this any more. I'm done. You really are not sorry for what you did today. Vile, what you did to me today.
"Texting 'I'm sorry' after you called me all of the names and hit me isn't enough. Bye. Enjoy your ket session. One day you will realise what you did to me today. Enjoy the last 25 quid you ever took from me. Last chance to see me before I go."
Leah was meanwhile said to have promised to buy the boy a tracksuit if he "stop sniffing ket" for two weeks. But, in a further message, she told him: "What you've done to me is vile. The worst thing is you, you don't even give a f***. You got what you wanted.
"You actually don't give a f***. This will be the hardest decision of my life. I deserve to be treated better. The fact you stole and lied and you can't be arsed begging me to take you back shows you don't even give a f*** about me. Bye then. You hurt me then won't even speak to me. Instead of making an effort to say sorry, you blocked me.
"You really want me to go away forever. You lied and stole from me and you blocked me. If I lied and stole from you would you speak to me? You're horrible to me. You don't care if you ever speak to me again or see me again. You're with your mates and they're clearly more important than how I feel.
"Instead of being vile to me, how about fixing what you broke? You had no right to block me on Instagram and Snapchat. Add me back now. It's not even funny, 'cos I'm the one crying again. I've done f*** all wrong and I'm the one that gets hurt again. You genuinely don't give a f*** about me at all.
A jury of six men and six women previously heard that Leah, of Capesthorne Road in Orford, Warrington, was employed as deputy manager of the care home in St Helens where the boy had been placed and was assigned as his key worker. But Mr Pickavance said during the prosecution's opening: "The defendant, by her own admission, admitted that she fell in love with him. But the crown say that it was not simply parental love, but something that went far beyond that and was physical love."
While the teenager "does not support the prosecution", colleagues described "inappropriate" behaviour from Leah, who wore a black dress in the dock with her blonde hair tied back in a bun, as well as "unprofessional interventions which prevented [the boy] from being challenged about his behaviour". He was also said to have been seen lying in her bed at the home "as if it was completely normal", with the defendant having apparently remarked of this: "He's comfortable. He always does that. No one else has a problem."
A subsequent investigation by Merseyside Police similarly recovered video footage of the teenager asleep in her bed. Leah was meanwhile reported to have "worn skin tight and highly revealing clothing" in his presence, including a bodysuit with no underwear and a "highly visible thong".
The youth's mum also "grew more concerned" about the relationship between her son and Leah, who allegedly told the mother that the boy "had her wrapped around his little finger" and called him "gorgeous and handsome".
Mr Pickavance added that messages exchanged between the two "painted a picture of a relationship far removed from a carer and child". When interviewed by detectives, she "denied any improper behaviour" but, having been released on bail under conditions not to contact the boy, the two were then spotted together weeks later beside a white Audi car at Walton Hall and Gardens in Warrington by a fellow care worker.
Leah, who is represented by Rebecca Filletti, denies one count of being a person in a position of trust causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity. The trial, before Judge Brian Cummings KC, continues.
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