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Schoolboy’s ‘let’s get naughty’ lies ruined my life
Mum endured 18 months of hell after accepting 15-year-old boy as Facebook friend
AN innocent mum of two has told how a schoolboy’s sex lies ruined her life.
Karen Seldon, 44, was accused of sending the lad, 15, a message saying “Let’s get naughty” and bedding him.
She slammed cops for acting on the boy’s word in taking her to court without a shred of evidence.
Cleared Karen, of Abercarn, Caerphilly, said: “They are the real criminals”.
Karen’s local community turned against her on the back of the lad’s lies. She became a prisoner in her own home as she was called a “kiddie fiddler” and a “paedophile”.
Eggs were thrown at her window, her car was damaged and she was even attacked in her home.
She also lost her job as the stress of her nightmare took its toll.
And now — despite being cleared by a jury who concluded the case against her was based on a pack of lies — she is still suffering.
Karen said: “I was completely innocent but the people who need to be questioned are the ones who brought this case to trial.
“As far as I am concerned they are the real criminals.
“I faced a real prospect of going to jail for something I did not do.
“The police charged me with not one shred of evidence apart from this boy’s word.
“Even though I’ve been cleared in court I live with the stigma and daily abuse from people who still believe the terrible lies.
“This case has cost me my job and my confidence and wasted thousands of taxpayers’ pounds.
“The boy who complained about me is a total fantasist and should never been taken so seriously without any evidence at all.”
Karen was accused of sex with the boy after allegedly sending him a message saying “Let’s get naughty” and photos of her boobs and bum.
Her ordeal started in March last year when the lad, who cannot be named for legal reasons, sent Karen a friend request on Facebook.
As she vaguely knew him and had met him before, she accepted.
Karen, who has two daughters, Katie, 24 and Amie, 16, said: “He looked like a typical teenager, skinny, tall, wearing a hoodie. I didn’t really take too much notice of him.”
Two months later, police called at her home in Abercarn, South Wales.
She recalled: “They told me the boy’s mother had made a complaint about me. I couldn’t believe my ears.
“They searched my phone and Facebook to see the pictures I had supposedly sent him. They didn’t find any as I had not sent them.
“I couldn’t understand why such lies were being made up. I was very upset and angry.
“A few nights later, I logged into Facebook and had a message from a close friend who said vicious rumours were being spread about me, saying I’d slept with the boy.
“She told me to look on the profiles of a couple of people.
“I was horrified that there were vile messages about me saying ‘she is disgusting’ and ‘if it was my son I would give her a good battering’.”
The hate campaign then escalated.
Karen said: “People would bang my door late at night and run away.
“I was called a ‘kiddie fiddler’ and a ‘paedophile’.
“My car was scratched and the wing mirrors broken off. One morning it was completely covered in toilet paper.
“I had eggs and tomatoes thrown at my windows.
“I dreaded walking out the door wondering what I might find.
“From being a bubbly sociable fun-loving person, I didn’t want to go out. I would do a food shop late at night to avoid people.
“One night last September, I was at home and there was a knock.
“I opened the door and it was forcibly pushed open.
“I fell backwards, lost my footing and heard shouting.
“I was being kicked and dragged by my hair, I was screaming.
“I was dragged over a table with an ashtray and wine glass on it. There was a female standing over the top of me. She said I was a ‘*****’ and a ‘bad’ mother.
“I stood up and said, ‘I’m calling the police’. I was grabbed and someone pushed me back and put his knee on me and his hand on my throat. My phone was taken. I was terrified.”
A neighbour who heard the commotion phoned the police.
But the cops arrested Karen and searched her home.
She said: “It was surreal. This boy’s mother had claimed he was at my house with just his boxers on.
“I realised I was dealing with people on another level.
“I had no idea what their motive was to tell such lies. How can one mother do that to another?
“I later discovered the police were looking for this boy’s T-shirt.”
The boy’s mother was later given a caution for the assault.
But Karen spent that night in a police cell and was charged with sexual activity with a minor and had to pose for mugshots and provide fingerprints.
Karen added: “I was told it might be easier to plead guilty as, rather than face up to four years’ jail, I’d just go on the sex offenders register.
“But I was never going to plead guilty to something I hadn’t done. I had to believe the jury would see the truth through all his lies.”
She had to wait 12 months for her trial. Bail conditions meant she had to stay at her home.
Karen denied four charges of sexual activity with a minor and on October 2, after a week-long trial and three hours of deliberations, the jury cleared her on all counts.
Karen, who is now unemployed, said: “I had to leave a job I loved because I kept making mistakes with all the stress, I couldn’t concentrate.
“What happened to me is terrifying because it could happen to anyone. I believe this boy had a vendetta against my family.”
Be vigilant online
By DR PAM SPURR, Sun expert
ALTHOUGH exonerated, Karen Seldon’s story is a wake-up call to think how you interact online, especially with younger people.
So, be vigilant if someone seems to pay you too much attention. They may try to lure you into a suspect online relationship.
Attention seekers may make false accusations.
Be cautious with private messages. They may be held against you. Remember, you don’t know online “friends” any more than a stranger in another town.
Schoolboy’s ‘let’s get naughty’ lies ruined my life
Mum endured 18 months of hell after accepting 15-year-old boy as Facebook friend
AN innocent mum of two has told how a schoolboy’s sex lies ruined her life.
Karen Seldon, 44, was accused of sending the lad, 15, a message saying “Let’s get naughty” and bedding him.
She slammed cops for acting on the boy’s word in taking her to court without a shred of evidence.
Cleared Karen, of Abercarn, Caerphilly, said: “They are the real criminals”.
Karen’s local community turned against her on the back of the lad’s lies. She became a prisoner in her own home as she was called a “kiddie fiddler” and a “paedophile”.
Eggs were thrown at her window, her car was damaged and she was even attacked in her home.
She also lost her job as the stress of her nightmare took its toll.
And now — despite being cleared by a jury who concluded the case against her was based on a pack of lies — she is still suffering.
Karen said: “I was completely innocent but the people who need to be questioned are the ones who brought this case to trial.
“As far as I am concerned they are the real criminals.
“I faced a real prospect of going to jail for something I did not do.
“The police charged me with not one shred of evidence apart from this boy’s word.
“Even though I’ve been cleared in court I live with the stigma and daily abuse from people who still believe the terrible lies.
“This case has cost me my job and my confidence and wasted thousands of taxpayers’ pounds.
“The boy who complained about me is a total fantasist and should never been taken so seriously without any evidence at all.”
Karen was accused of sex with the boy after allegedly sending him a message saying “Let’s get naughty” and photos of her boobs and bum.
Her ordeal started in March last year when the lad, who cannot be named for legal reasons, sent Karen a friend request on Facebook.
As she vaguely knew him and had met him before, she accepted.
Karen, who has two daughters, Katie, 24 and Amie, 16, said: “He looked like a typical teenager, skinny, tall, wearing a hoodie. I didn’t really take too much notice of him.”
Two months later, police called at her home in Abercarn, South Wales.
She recalled: “They told me the boy’s mother had made a complaint about me. I couldn’t believe my ears.
“They searched my phone and Facebook to see the pictures I had supposedly sent him. They didn’t find any as I had not sent them.
“I couldn’t understand why such lies were being made up. I was very upset and angry.
“A few nights later, I logged into Facebook and had a message from a close friend who said vicious rumours were being spread about me, saying I’d slept with the boy.
“She told me to look on the profiles of a couple of people.
“I was horrified that there were vile messages about me saying ‘she is disgusting’ and ‘if it was my son I would give her a good battering’.”
The hate campaign then escalated.
Karen said: “People would bang my door late at night and run away.
“I was called a ‘kiddie fiddler’ and a ‘paedophile’.
“My car was scratched and the wing mirrors broken off. One morning it was completely covered in toilet paper.
“I had eggs and tomatoes thrown at my windows.
“I dreaded walking out the door wondering what I might find.
“From being a bubbly sociable fun-loving person, I didn’t want to go out. I would do a food shop late at night to avoid people.
“One night last September, I was at home and there was a knock.
“I opened the door and it was forcibly pushed open.
“I fell backwards, lost my footing and heard shouting.
“I was being kicked and dragged by my hair, I was screaming.
“I was dragged over a table with an ashtray and wine glass on it. There was a female standing over the top of me. She said I was a ‘*****’ and a ‘bad’ mother.
“I stood up and said, ‘I’m calling the police’. I was grabbed and someone pushed me back and put his knee on me and his hand on my throat. My phone was taken. I was terrified.”
A neighbour who heard the commotion phoned the police.
But the cops arrested Karen and searched her home.
She said: “It was surreal. This boy’s mother had claimed he was at my house with just his boxers on.
“I realised I was dealing with people on another level.
“I had no idea what their motive was to tell such lies. How can one mother do that to another?
“I later discovered the police were looking for this boy’s T-shirt.”
The boy’s mother was later given a caution for the assault.
But Karen spent that night in a police cell and was charged with sexual activity with a minor and had to pose for mugshots and provide fingerprints.
Karen added: “I was told it might be easier to plead guilty as, rather than face up to four years’ jail, I’d just go on the sex offenders register.
“But I was never going to plead guilty to something I hadn’t done. I had to believe the jury would see the truth through all his lies.”
She had to wait 12 months for her trial. Bail conditions meant she had to stay at her home.
Karen denied four charges of sexual activity with a minor and on October 2, after a week-long trial and three hours of deliberations, the jury cleared her on all counts.
Karen, who is now unemployed, said: “I had to leave a job I loved because I kept making mistakes with all the stress, I couldn’t concentrate.
“What happened to me is terrifying because it could happen to anyone. I believe this boy had a vendetta against my family.”
Be vigilant online
By DR PAM SPURR, Sun expert
ALTHOUGH exonerated, Karen Seldon’s story is a wake-up call to think how you interact online, especially with younger people.
So, be vigilant if someone seems to pay you too much attention. They may try to lure you into a suspect online relationship.
Attention seekers may make false accusations.
Be cautious with private messages. They may be held against you. Remember, you don’t know online “friends” any more than a stranger in another town.
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