Mother-of-three, 31, molested schoolboys as young as 12 after drinking enough alcohol 'to knock out an elephant' at party

Amanda Wheeler, from Cheltenham, kissed and groped a 12-year-old boy



She had downed vodka, beer, and wine and straddled a group of teenagers

Mother-of-three also persuaded a 13-year-old to perform a sex act on her

Judge said incident was 'one-off' and suspended her prison sentence

Wheeler ordered to sign Sex Offender's Register for ten years



Amanda Wheeler was found guilty of four counts of sexual activity with a child and one of sexual assault

A mother who molested three boys after consuming enough alcohol to 'knock out a bull elephant' walked free from court today.

Amanda Wheeler, 31, downed vodka, beer and wine at a friend's birthday party before kissing and groping a 12-year-old boy on a bench.



She then performed a lap-dance and straddled a group of teenage boys.



The part-time cleaner also bit a 13-year-old boy on his neck and persuaded him to perform a sex act on her.



The mother-of-three denied four counts of sexual activity with a child and one of sexual assault but was found guilty following a two-week trial in October at Worcester Crown Court.

Today, Judge Patrick Thomas QC said he did not believe the incident on November 29, 2011, 'arose out of paedophilia' but was a 'one-off'.

Wheeler, from Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, was given a two-year prison sentence suspended for two years at Birmingham Crown Court.

Judge Thomas said the three boys had made a full recovery 'from what could have been extraordinarily traumatic experiences'.

However, he told Wheeler she 'should be ashamed' of herself for pleading not guilty as he said the quantity of alcohol she had drunk meant she could not dispute the testimony of the boys.

He told the court: 'It is a highly unusual and very difficult case.

'I'm satisfied that this behaviour arose not out of paedophilia, although these were paedophile acts, but out of drunkenness, selfishness and a real element of childishness on your part.

'You were grossly disinhibited but I don't think that in you there is a tendency or proclivity towards this sort of behaviour and because of this I can regard it as a one-off.

'The aggravating features are the age of the children, the presence of other children during the offending itself and the fact that you were drunk and out of control.

'It is right to say that they show that the major impact on the children came from all of this coming to light and the embarrassment and difficulties that caused them at the time.'

He said the victims had made it clear they were 'over whatever trauma' they felt when they made statements in April 2012.

Judge Patrick Thomas told Wheeler she should 'be ashamed of herself' for pleading not guilty but said he was satisfied it was a 'one-off' as he gave a her suspended prison sentence at Birmingham Crown Court

The judge added: 'It is because and only because of the victim impact statements and the impact of the sentence to be served upon your children that I think it is appropriate to step back and suspend the sentence.'

During the trial, the court heard Wheeler could not remember parts of the night she attended the party near Worcester, because of the 'extraordinary' amount of alcohol she had consumed.

Samantha Forsyth, defending, said her client had 'very significant gaps in her memory'.



Judge Thomas criticised Wheeler for her 'out-of-control' actions.

He told her: 'The evidence established very clearly that on that night you got paralytically drunk and that your behaviour with some children passed beyond the flirtatious to the point where you touched them indecently.

'This was a significant and serious offence.

'You fought the case and you should frankly be ashamed of yourself for refusing to accept that your memory of the matter was such that you really couldn't dispute what the boys consistently said.'

Wheeler was acquitted of a sixth charge of sexual activity with a child.

