Wandsworth horse trainer who sexually abused teenage boy walks free
A horse trainer who sexually abused a vulnerable teenage boy has walked free after an 'extraordinary' six-year delay in the case coming to court. Crystal Vella - who was 25 at the time - met the boy while working on a farm and they were in contact for seven months, during which they had sex and she sent him a masturbation video and photos in her underwear.
The 34-year-old paedophile of Almeric Road, Wandsworth, lifted her loose grey sweater to expose her six-month pregnancy bump to the sentencing judge at Kingston Crown Court on Tuesday morning (May 28). The horse-loving sex abuser sobbed and wiped her tears as prosecutor Charles Evans outlined details of her illegal liaison with a child.
Vella's social media profile shows photos of her working in horse stables, and competing in dressage and showjumping competitions. On Facebook, she lists Vauxhall City Farm in South London, Mudchute Farm on the Isle of Dogs, and the London Equestrian Centre, a horse-riding school in Barnet, North London, as previous places of work. MyLondon has chosen not to name the farm where she met the boy to protect his identity.
READ MORE: Paedophile London teacher calls sickening child sex abuse 'fun for all' and refuses to apologise
The victim - who cannot be named for legal reasons - was described as 'very vulnerable'. Their contact was uncovered by his mum in August 2017 when she discovered 'alarming' messages on his iPhone, prompting her to take screenshots and hand them over to the Metropolitan Police.
Mr Evans told the court: "In the messages they talk of 'the relationship' and physicality involved. It's clear the defendant appreciated he was only [a teenager]. It's also apparent the defendant had second thoughts about the relationship... The victim appears to have developed an obsession."
After finding the messages, which included photos of tattooed Vella in her underwear and a video of her masturbating, the victim's mum spoke to her son and he admitted they were in contact. When pressed about their sexual encounters, he said they had slept together three times. But on Tuesday, Mr Evans said Vella's basis of plea, in which she claimed they only had sex once at her home, was accepted by the CPS.
The victim was, according to Mr Evans, reluctant to make a statement to police, but in 2018 agreed to give a video-recorded interview. He outlined the history of the sexual abuse and revealed he had shown Vella's explicit video to someone close to him.
When Vella was first arrested, she told police 'We were just friends' and 'I did not mean it to go that far'. Later though she said 'I'm really glad you came, because it's just getting too much', and confessed to sending the sexual photos and 'being more than just friends' with the victim, Mr Evans told the court.
Two videos of a masturbating woman were also found in the texts, but her face was absent and could not be identified. Other sexual photos of Vella were identified after police matched the tattoos on the woman in the photos to those on her body.
"She admitted she should not have sent the 'dumb' photos to the victim, but she said she 'cried a lot' and he made her 'feel better'," said Mr Evans, quoting Vella's own words to police.
In her basis of plea, Vella claimed the victim had only been to her home once, she was not in a position of trust, and she was never alone with the victim on the farm. This was all accepted by the prosecution.
A colleague at Vauxhall City Farm said Vella had been suspended from her job after bosses learned about the abuse. The colleague also said Vella had called the allegations 'rubbish', but said they believed the abuse had started 'out of loneliness rather than predatory behaviour', Mr Evans told the court.
'Someone who would latch on to affection'
Vella, who has a 12-year-old son and one previous conviction for vehicle interference, waited over six years to appear in court after the victim's video interview was recorded in 2018. Grovelling to the judge, the prosecution cited Covid, and a detective from the Met cited restructuring in the rape and serious sexual offences departments, as some of the reasons for the long delay.
Vella pleaded guilty to three child sex offences at a pre-trial hearing in January this year, admitting causing the boy to engage in penetrative sexual activity, causing a child to watch sexual activity, and sexual communication with a child.
At Kingston Crown Court on Tuesday, Mr Evans argued there was a 'significant disparity in age', but fell short of saying the abuse involved grooming or planning. The court did, however, hear evidence of the probation worker's conclusion that Vella continues to pose 'a high risk to young teenage boys'.
Pleading for a suspended sentence, defence counsel Chloe Carvell argued there was a disparity in age, but it was not 'significant'. In mitigation, she also highlighted her client's role as a mum, the impending birth of her second child, the delay with bringing the case to court, and her stable job as a barmaid.
"Probation assessed Ms Vella as being somewhat vulnerable herself, through low self-esteem and self-worth," added Ms Carvell, though she conceded this was 'no justification' for the sexual abuse.
Ms Carvell said Vella was 'remorseful' had her victim 'at the forefront of her mind'. She also claimed the 'relationship' had arisen at a time when her partner was allegedly 'not treating her particularly well' and she found 'her and the victim had similar interests'.
Ms Carvell also drew on the testimony of Vella's colleague, who described her as a 'vulnerable and troubled individual' and 'someone who would latch on to affection'. "The fact she tried to stop the relationship was, to some extent, showing she did the right thing," Ms Carvell recalled the colleague saying in her statement.
"It's quite apparent the defendant had second thoughts about the relationship," argued Ms Carvell, "The victim is quite persistent in asking for those... It appears the victim appeared to develop an obsession for the defendant... [though] it was her responsibility to ignore the messages."
Ms Carvell also pointed to character statements provided by Vella, though it emerged at the hearing she had not told her friends or family about the prosecution against her.
'The impact is likely to be lifelong'
Judge Mark Milliken-Smith KC said it was accepted there had been one occasion of sexual intercourse, but that it had been to ejaculation, which is an aggravating feature. He also highlighted Vella's failure to admit her full conduct during her first police interview, and her initial dismissal of the sexual abuse as 'stupid'.
Considering the delays to the case, the judge added: "[The victim] was no doubt confused, and reflecting on what he perceived as a strong relationship between you... For reasons that are wholly unsatisfactory, the matter did not proceed to court for six years."
Judge Milliken-Smith sided with the prosecution, concluding 'there was' a significant age gap, but also said there was no evidence of planning or grooming. While he accepted Vella's vulnerability, he took greater regard to the vulnerability of the victim, whose additional needs were 'well known' by Vella.
Under normal circumstances, the judge would have sent Vella straight to jail. But in light of the 'extraordinary' six-year delay to bring the case to court, it was enough mitigation, along with her obligations as a pregnant mum, to reduce the sentence from a starting point of four years to two years, a prison term which can be suspended.
For sexually abusing the 'confused' teen boy, the impact of which the judge said would 'last a lifetime', Vella was spared jail with a two-year sentence suspended for two years. Due to her pregnancy, she was also deemed unfit for unpaid work, but will still have to complete 35 days of rehabilitation activity requirement where she will address the causes of her offending.
She was given concurrent sentences of nine months for inciting a child to watch sexual activity and six months for sexual communication with a child. The judge also imposed a 10-year sexual harm prevention order, restriction her access to children, and she is signed onto the sex offenders register for 10 years.
After warning her of immediate imprisonment if she breaks any terms of her sentence, Judge Milliken-Smith added: "You can consider yourself fortunate today. These were very serious offences and I have already impressed the impact on the young person concerned is likely to be lifelong. If you do not utilise the opportunities you have been given, for the reasons I have explained, child or no child. Unborn child or no unborn child. Do you understand?"
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