Sophie Elms, UK's youngest female sex offender, to be freed from prison

Sophie Elms, 25, was jailed in 2019 for 16 child sex offences in Wiltshire. She is due for release this month after being recalled for breaching licence conditions.

Convicted at 18, recalled after early release — Elms set to walk free again

Sophie Elms, described by the Daily Express as the UK's youngest female paedophile, is due to be released from prison this month after being recalled following a breach of her licence conditions.

Elms, now 25, was sentenced to seven years and ten months in 2019 after pleading guilty to 16 child sex offences in Wiltshire. Her victims included children as young as two years old. At the time of the offences she was a childcare student, though none of the crimes took place at her nursery or college placement.

She was first released in September last year but was recalled to custody after breaching the terms of her licence. She is now expected to be freed again this month.

Four mobile phones seized from Elms contained indecent images and videos classified as Category A — the most serious grade. She had shared that material with a known sex offender.

A Prison Service spokesperson said the crimes were "horrendous" and confirmed that strict conditions would apply upon release. "Upon release, this offender will be subject to the strict conditions of the sex offender's register," the spokesperson said.

A parent of one of the victims addressed the court at sentencing, describing the impact on their family as "unimaginable" and "horrific".

Detective Inspector Simon Childe, who led the investigation, said at the time: "Understandably, this case has shocked the local community as well as those further afield. Elms is just 18 years old, making her one of the youngest women in the country to be convicted of these types of offences, and 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."

Det Insp Childe praised his team for intervening before Elms could take up a professional role working with children. He also acknowledged the families of the victims, saying they had shown "a great deal of strength" throughout the court process and had been provided with specialist support from the outset of the investigation.

"I hope that in this case, the families of the young victims can take some closure from the sentencing and feel supported in moving forward," Childe said.

Source: Daily Express