MICHELLE KAY, COLNE, SENTENCED TO TWO YEARS FOR ILLEGAL RELATIONSHIP WITH TEENAGER

In October 2012, Michelle Kay, a 40-year-old bride-to-be from Colne, Lancashire, was sentenced to two years in prison after engaging in a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old boy. Her arrest followed her being duped by a lie detector test modeled after the one featured on ITV's The Jeremy Kyle Show, which her victim's father commissioned to prove her innocence. Kay initially denied any sexual contact but failed the test, leading to her arrest.

At Burnley Crown Court, she pleaded guilty to four counts of sexual activity with a minor and one count of inciting or causing a child to engage in sexual activity. The relationship began in February 2011 when she was babysitting the boy, and they started kissing and having sex while watching a film at her house. Prosecutor Katherine Johnson explained, "The teenager had touched the defendant, expecting to be stopped, but she let him carry on. They kissed and things escalated."

The sexual encounters included doing a sex act in the boy's bed and engaging in intimacy while a teenage friend was in the same room playing on a PlayStation. Later, the boy visited Kay to comfort her after a row with her fiancé, who was away working. She allowed him to stay over, and after she became upset, they cuddled and ended up having sex, as Johnson detailed, "He heard her crying and they cuddled. This led to sexual intercourse."

The allegations surfaced when the 16-year-old boy confided in a friend, who told his mother, leading to the boy’s father confronting Kay. She initially denied the claims but agreed to take the lie detector test, which she failed, prompting her arrest on October 7, 2011.

During sentencing, Judge Jonathan Gibson emphasized the gravity of Kay’s actions: "You had sexual relations with a boy who was aged 15 when it began and 16 when it ended. This is a serious case, and activity of this kind is disapproved of by society. I have decided that a custodial sentence is inevitable." Kay was ordered to register as a sex offender for ten years and was banned from working with children for five years.

In a prior hearing in September 2012, Michelle Kay, who had no previous convictions, pleaded guilty at Preston Crown Court to similar charges concerning the same victim, with her case now set for sentencing at Burnley Crown Court on October 23. Judge Stuart Baker warned her that prison was the likely outcome, stating, "I must make it clear that for this type of offending, the overwhelming likelihood is that a prison sentence will be imposed."