A FENLAND woman who had sex with a 12-year-old boy has today been jailed for six years.

Diane Pullar, 32, had denied six charges of engaging in sexual activity with a child but was convicted on all charges by a majority verdict of 10-2 at Cambridge Crown Court following a trial last month.

The former playtime assistant at Glebelands Primary School in Chatteris had a sexual relationship with the boy, now 14, between April and July in 2009.

The relationship was exposed when another boy walked in on them.

Phone records showed a high level of contact between Pullar and the boy. She also encouraged him to skip school so they could spend time together.

Pullar, of Tithe Road, Chatteris, was sentenced to six years at Cambridge Crown Court today. She will also be given an extended licence period on her release and be made the subject of a Sexual Offences Prevention Order which bans her from working with children.

Det Con Neal Holdsworth said: “Pullar encouraged a sexual relationship with a child she knew was underage.

“She abused the trust of a young boy for her own gratification, then put him through the ordeal of having to give evidence during the trial.

“This was a complex and difficult investigation and we are happy she has now been brought to justice.”

In January, during a trial spanning almost two weeks, Cambridge Crown Court heard that Pullar had sex with the boy on at least five occasions at locations including her house, her garden caravan and in woods near to her home.

On the first occasion Pullar had sex with the boy, she slept with him in a tent positioned on a trampoline in her back garden.

The boy, who did not attend Glebelands School, described Pullar’s distinctive features during the trial including spots on her bottom and stretch marks on her thighs.

He had failed to recall all her distinguishing remarks and did not describe a birth mark or a piercing.

The trial heard that a total of 156 text messages were sent by Pullar to the boy over a two-day period in August 2009. The defence claimed it was to test how many messages could be stored on the boy’s phone.

Pullar told the trial that the boy, who did not attend Glebelands School, was lying.

Pullar first became friends with the boy and his family in 2008 but began a relationship with him the following year, said Claire Matthews, prosecuting in the trial.

The relationship ended after the families had a dispute in October 2009. Police were called to investigate in April 2010 after a friend of the victim walked in on the pair “messing around” at Pullar’s home and told his mother.