Manchester Evening News

Woman abused girl as pervert watched

GROOMER PLIED CHILD WITH DRUGS AND GOT HER TO HAVE SEX WITH MEN FOR MONEY

- By AMY WALKER

A WOMAN groomed an underage girl into sleeping with men for money – and sexually assaulted her as a man watched on.

Dominika Weremczuk, then 19, met the then 13-year-old at a house party, where she plied the girl with drugs including cocaine and engaged in sexual acts with her, a court heard.

This escalated to them having sexual intercours­e when the girl was aged between 14 and 15 and when Weremczuk went to university to study criminolog­y and psychology, Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court heard.

The girl was encouraged to meet Weremczuk where they took drugs. She then encouraged the girl to ‘meet guys’ so she could get money to come back and visit her.

“She told her where to go, what to do, and told her if she had sex with him, he’d give her £100,” Nicola Carroll, prosecutin­g, told the court.

“She told her the location, the type of car and what the man looked like.”

Later, Weremczuk arranged another occasion where the girl met a different man and he gave her money for performing sexual acts, it was said.

Then, she took the girl round to Mark Houseman’s house in Stalybridg­e.

She was told by Weremczuk that he was going to ‘take some pictures’ but once they got to the bedroom she told her to get undressed and they engaged in sexual activity as Houseman, 31, watched.

Once things came to an end, Weremczuk became abusive, and the girl told her family, who in turn informed the police. In an interview with the police, Weremczuk, now 25, admitted having performed sexual activity with the girl and to being a prostitute.

Weremczuk and Houseman, both from Stalybridg­e, were found guilty of causing or inciting exploitati­on of a child, and Weremczuk was also found guilty of sexual activity with a child and arranging or facilitati­ng child exploitati­on. She had also pleaded guilty to two offences of sexual activity with a child.

In an emotional victim impact statement, the girl said: “I was 13 – I was a child. I began to rely on drugs, I was always late for school if I went in at all. Looking back, I knew all this was because of what happened with Dominika, because of what she was doing to me. The heartbreak­ing thing is I can’t even hug my mum or anything without feeling awkward, and it’s so upsetting and I know it breaks her heart too. After I had been to court, everything hit me and the reality of what I had gone through.”

For Weremczuk, Howard Bernstein said: “There was no assumption of responsibi­lity. There was a decision made for her to get involved, she said ‘Try doing what I’m doing,’ essentiall­y.

“There is no suggestion there was any financial gain for Ms Weremczuk. She was 19 when this happened, she was emotionall­y immature and unable to properly assume risk.”

He added that his client had formerly been a victim of exploitati­on and had ‘spiralled,’ adding that she is ‘damaged rather than dangerous.’

Mitigating for Houseman, Colin Buckle said: “A custodial sentence would be a personal unmitigate­d disaster for him. There is a distinct separation – he didn’t involve himself in that sexual activity, he was a voyeur. When he stood there, he didn’t do anything or say anything.”

Weremczuk, of Hawkshead Close, Stalybridg­e, was jailed for 11 years, of which she will serve two-thirds in prison.

Houseman, of West Avenue, Stalybridg­e, was jailed for three years. Both were made the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention order and must sign the Sex Offenders Register indefinite­ly.

 ?? ?? Mark Houseman was jailed for three years
Mark Houseman was jailed for three years
 ?? ?? Dominika Weremczuk was jailed for 11 years
Dominika Weremczuk was jailed for 11 years

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