Sex offender Joanne Burr's home attacked after her crimes against girl, 15, exposed at Preston Crown Court

A woman sex offender was subjected to a "campaign of hate" after details of her crimes against a 15-year-old schoolgirl nine years ago were published in the press and on social media, it was claimed in court.

A lawyer revealed Joanne Burr's home had been attacked, with windows smashed and graffiti daubed on the walls and front door, leaving her terrified to leave her house.

The 40-year-old, formerly from Coppull near Chorley, appeared in Preston Crown Court yesterday (Monday) charged with breaching an order banning her from being alone with children after it was discovered she had been babysitting a two-year-old boy overnight while his mother was at work.

Police only realised she had been looking after the toddler when he was found wandering barefoot around the streets of Fleetwood early one morning. They eventually tracked down his address two hours later after door-to-door enquiries and Burr confessed she had been looking after him.

The court was told the mother of the child had absolutely no idea about Burr's murky past when she accepted her offer to babysit. But she was not suspected of any sexual offences against the boy.

The former hairdresser, who has served two previous jail terms for sex and drugs offences, was spared a third stint in prison after it was claimed she was now starting to put her life back on track with the help of support workers and was intending to move away from the area for a fresh start.

Crown Court Recorder Sophie Cartwright KC heard that Burr had been convicted of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old schoolgirl in 2014 and jailed for 32 months. She was also sent to prison in 2017 for the possession and supply of heroin.

The sex offence related to her staging a sex show with the schoolgirl at her former home in Chapel Street, Coppull for the benefit of a 73-year-old man who offered to pay £200 to watch. Burr needed the money to pay off a drug debt.

Having moved to Fleetwood, details of those previous offences only became public this year after she was arrested in May for breaching the sexual prevention order by looking after the little boy.

She had since been subjected to a "campaign of hate" and had become "terrified to leave her own home," said defence barrister Julie Taylor. "It has left her socially isolated, no-one wants to be friends with her now because they know about the order made (almost) 10 years ago.

"So she clings on to friendship. And when a friend of a friend suggested this lady working a night shift had no-one to look after her child, she was afraid of losing the friendship.

"But because of the support she now has she is getting her life back in line. She knows she did wrong and, to her credit, as soon as the police turned up she admitted it and told them she shouldn't have looked after the child."

Matthew Todd, prosecuting, told the court that after being jailed in 2014 for the sex offence with the schoolgirl Burr had been ordered not to be with a child under 16 unsupervised. And so when she was asked to look after the two-year-old boy "she should have said 'no' but she didn't."

He added that it had been claimed she had looked after other people's children, but there was insufficient evidence to investigate those claims. Police had therefore issued just a caution instead of charging her with child neglect.

Giving Burr a 16-month prison sentence suspended for two years, Recorder Miss Cartwright told her she had wrongly agreed to look after the child and had failed to disclose to his mother that she was bound by a court order not to be alone with children.

"I accept there wasn't anything sinister, albeit it it is serious," she said. "You are a woman of 40 who has been engaging with support services and you are having assistance. And there is a realistic prospect of rehabilitation."

She ordered Burr to attend 25 days of rehabilitation activities, with a 12-month drug rehabilitation requirement.