The criminal mums in Cheshire jailed over last year
They were locked up for their crimes
While the vast majority of court appearances are made by men, many women have also been locked up for their crimes. For some it meant leaving their children without a mother until they were freed from prison.
Here are the Cheshire cases involving mums who were jailed over the last 12 months. They included a woman who "groomed" a teenage boy, a mum who killed her son's dog and a fraudster.
Some remain behind bars while others will have since been released.
Lindy Leah
Lindy Leah, of Capesthorne Road in Orford, Warrington(Image: Merseyside Police)
A married Cheshire mum who "became infatuated" with a vulnerable young boy in her care was jailed back in September. Lindy Leah preyed on him over a year-long period, inviting him to spend the night alone with her.
She was said to have “fallen in love with” the teenager, who was a resident of the Merseyside home where she was employed as a deputy manager. The 44-year-old was accused of wearing inappropriate and revealing outfits in his presence.
A series of WhatsApp messages showed her apparently asking him “for a love bite” and encouraging him to go missing so they could enjoy a drug-fuelled “night away”. Leah, of Capesthorne Road in Orford, Warrington, denied being a person in a position of trust causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.
However, she was found guilty following a trial at Liverpool Crown Court last month. Leah also pleaded guilty to two counts of being concerned in the supply of class B drugs after text messages discussing the sales of cannabis resin and ketamine were found on her phone, reports the Liverpool Echo.
Alicia Darcy
Alicia Darcy
Mum Alicia Darcy is behind bars after killing her son's dog with a Samurai sword. And the 54-year-old left the weapon embedded in the animal while she called the police and claimed the pet had attacked her.
Now Darcy, of Platt Avenue in Sandbach, has been jailed for 18 months - and is banned from having anything to do with animals. Meanwhile, police involved in the 'distressing case' say the defendant left the dog to die with officers finding the sword left embedded in the animal's torso.
The incident unfolded on October 12 last year when Darcy called Cheshire Police, while intoxicated, to say her son's dog had attacked her and she'd killed it. She later admitted to cops she'd stabbed the dog while it rested on the sofa.
Darcy went on to admit causing unnecessary suffering to an animal and possession of an offensive weapon in a private place. During a hearing at the crown court in Chester last week the defendant was handed an 18-month prison term.
Sian Bullock
A mum-of-four has been jailed after she was caught with a kinder egg at the Creamfields festival in Cheshire. Sian Bullock, 35, attended the huge event in Daresbury on August 26 2023. After entering the security tent at the north gate entrance, she was then stopped by security staff due to a positive indication by a drugs dog, a court heard. (Image: Facebook)
A mother-of-four has been sentenced to prison after she was found with Kinder Eggs filled with drugs at the Creamfields festival in Cheshire. Sian Bullock, 35, attended the massive event in Daresbury on 26 August 2023.
She was stopped by security staff after a drug-sniffing dog indicated a positive result as she entered the security tent at the north gate entrance, according to court proceedings. The mum, hailing from Thornton-Cleveleys in Fylde, was then escorted to a private area by officers where she confessed to having two Kinder Egg containers hidden in her vagina, which held 64 MDMA tablets.
During questioning, Bullock claimed that she didn't know what the drugs were, but admitted to purchasing them for personal use, Chester Crown Court heard. Despite her claim, she was later charged with possession with intent to supply class A drugs.
Bullock appeared in court on 16 May last year, where she was handed a three-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to the offence. At the sentencing hearing, the judge stated that while Bullock had admitted her guilt and despite being a mother of four children, she knew what she was doing was wrong and that a custodial sentence was the only option.
Katie Carter
Katie Carter(Image: Merseyside Police)
A pregnant Cheshire woman visited her drug dealing boyfriend in jail - but ended up behind bars herself. Only days before, Katie Carter had stood in the dock alongside her partner but was ultimately spared prison as he was locked up.
But she threw away this second chance by smuggling a stash of cannabis into HMP Altcourse, hiding the contraband inside the hollowed out soles of a pair of Nike trainers which she had apparently brought for him to wear inside the prison. Their ill-fated relationship was said to have been the "catalyst" for her descent into crime, the mum to a 17-month-old baby having apparently been "acting in his thrall", reports the Liverpool Echo.
Liverpool Crown Court heard that Carter was previously handed an 18-month imprisonment suspended for two years on April 4, 2023 for two class A drug supply offences, while her partner Paul Cordingley received an immediate jail sentence during the same hearing. Sixteen days later, on April 20, the 28-year-old visited him in custody at Altcourse prison, bringing with her a number of items of clothing for him to wear while serving this term, including a pair of Nike React trainers.
But Derek Jones, prosecuting, described how, when scanned by an X-ray machine, prison officers "noticed something amiss" and found that the soles of each shoe had been "hollowed out". They discovered that quantities of cannabis resin had been hidden inside them.
Lyndsey Newton
GV of Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court, Bethesda Street, Hanley(Image: Stoke Sentinel / Reach PLC)
Fraudster Lyndsey Newton blew more than £140,000 of her mum's money when she had Power of Attorney. The 62-year-old from Chester was in charge of her mother's finances while the pensioner was spending her final years in a care home in Barlaston, Staffordshire.
But the defendant abused her position of trust by helping herself to huge sums of cash from her mum's bank accounts to buy furniture, clothes, holidays and regular meals out. On some occasions she blew thousands of pounds in one day buying high-end fashion brands.
And before her mum passed away Newton looked for a cheaper care home as funds were running low. Newton WAS jailed for three-and-a-half years at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court. Prosecutor Elizabeth Power said the total amount of the fraud was £142,852.25. Newton, of Peckforton Way, Chester, denied fraud by abuse of position but was convicted after a trial last year.