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A woman accused of paying a schoolboy for sex has been revealed as a former Ministry of Justice researcher.
Dr Kathryn Hopkins, 50, is accused of engaging in sexual relations with a 15-year-old schoolboy – and for paying him for sex.
She also stands accused of being in the back of a government car being driven by the teenager who was under the influence of cannabis and driving without a license.
Dr Hopkins made headlines last year after she acted as a whistleblower from within the Ministry of Justice as she accused the department of covering up research that found a treatment programme for sex offenders in England and Wales increased reoffending.
She took the Probation Service to an Employment Tribunal last year, claiming she had been "bullied" by the Ministry of Justice after producing the report.
Her research had been handed to officials in 2012, but the controversial treatment programme was not halted until 2017.
Dr Hopkins lost her employment tribunal – and later launched legal action against her new employers, HMRC, suggesting they had handled her personal data incorrectly during the disciplinary process.
The Liverpool ECHO reports court hearings this week exposed Dr Hopkins as the woman at the centre of a child-sex scandal as a consequence of her legal action.
The outlet reports new court documents have revealed that she has been suspended on full pay since 15 August 2018 after being arrested on suspicion of paying a schoolboy aged 13-15 for sexual services.
The documents emerged as part of a case in which Dr Hopkins took legal action against her new employers.
She suggested they had handled her personal data incorrectly during the disciplinary process, but the High Court rejected this claim.
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Mrs Justice Steyn revealed in court this week that Dr Hopkins had been suspended after being arrested in Merseyside for a "serious sexual offence".
While the judge also exposed Dr Hopkins for being in a government car while a 15-year-old boy was at the wheel.
Judge Steyn said in a judgement: "On 29 July 2018 she hired a car under HMRC corporate policy and, when the car was stopped by the Police later that day due to it being driven erratically, a 15-year-old male who did not hold a driving licence, was not insured to drive the car, and was under the influence of cannabis, was driving the car.
"The Claimant was in the rear of the car at the time."
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Meanwhile a spokesman for Merseyside Police told the ECHO: "We can confirm a woman was arrested in 2018 following allegations of sexual contact with a teenage boy.
"A 48-year-old woman from London (now 50) was arrested on August 15, 2018, on suspicion of paying for the sexual services of a boy aged 13-15.
"She was released under investigation and enquiries into the matter are ongoing."
- Cannabis
- Crime
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