A former Swindon nursery worker who became Britain’s youngest female convicted paedophile is set to be released from prison next month, six years after she was jailed for a string of child sex offences.
Sophie Elms, from Royal Wootton Bassett, was just 17 when she admitted committing a series of serious sexual offences against children as young as two. In 2019, she was sentenced at Swindon Crown Court to seven years and ten months in prison.
Elms pleaded guilty to multiple charges including:
- sexual assault of a child by penetration,
- sexual assault of a child by touching,
- distributing indecent images of children,
- possession of indecent images of children, and
- possession of extreme pornographic images of an animal.
The court heard that while she was undertaking a childcare course with a nursery placement in Swindon, none of her crimes took place at either the nursery or college.
She will now be released in September under strict licence conditions, which, Wiltshire 999s understands, will prevent her from returning to the area where her offences were carried out.
Police Reaction at Sentencing
Following her conviction, Detective Inspector Simon Childe, who led the investigation, said the case had “shocked the local community as well as those further afield.”
He added:
“Elms is just 18 years old, making her one of the youngest women in the country to be convicted of these types of offences. At the time of committing these atrocious crimes, she was studying childcare with a long-term aim of working with very young children in the future.
I am extremely grateful to my team of dedicated officers who were able to intercept and prevent her from working with children ever again.”
DI Childe praised the “strength” shown by the families of the victims throughout the case, confirming they had been given specialist support and would continue to be supported after sentencing.
Impact on Families
A parent of one of the children told the court during sentencing that the impact had been “unimaginable” and “horrific” for their family.
Elms’ case drew national attention both for the severity of her crimes and her young age at conviction. She remains subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and will be closely monitored after release.
