Woman in court charged with "stalking" Rotherham abuse whistleblower

A CHILD sex abuse victim will be tried next year for allegedly stalking a Rotherham borough councillor.

Sarah Wilson (pictured), who waived her right to lifelong anonymity to publish a book on her ordeal, appeared at Sheffield Magistrates’ Court to face the charge on Wednesday.

She is accused of stalking Cllr Jayne Senior, formerly head of youth work programme Risky Business, with voicemails, text messages and online posts “causing harassment, alarm or distress”.

The messages in question were sent between March 1, 2015 and June 28, 2016, District Judge Mr Paul Haley heard.

Wilson, whose sister Laura was murdered in 2010 by her 17-year-old boyfriend Ashtiaq Asghar, admits sending some communications but not others.

She denies that her actions constituted stalking Ms Senior, on the grounds that her messages were “reasonable in the circumstances”, said Mr Ian Anderson, defending.

Wilson, from Rotherham is due to appear again at Sheffield Magistrates’ Court next March 1.

Judge Healey granted her unconditional bail until that date.

Earlier in the day, Miss Wilson had held a protest against Cllr Senior outside Rotherham Town Hall, disputing statements the councillor made in her book Broken and Betrayed.

Asked about the protest, Cllr Senior said: “It’s sad that it’s happened. I will continue fighting for justice for everybody in Rotherham.”

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