A FORMER school learning support assistant sold drugs to a 15-year-old.
Bethan Picton, of Nubian Crescent in Hakin, appeared at Swansea Crown Court accused of being concerned in the supply of cocaine, MDMA, LSD and cannabis, as well as drug possession.
Prosecutor Alycia Carpanini said Picton was approached by police when she was sat in her car on Brunel Quay in Neyland on April 27 last year as the officers had received intelligence she was involved in drug dealing.
Officers found a one-gram bag of cannabis and a grinder in her car, and she was arrested for possession.
Upon searching her house, officers found LSD worth £50, £80-worth of cocaine, and £10-worth of MDMA.
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Picton’s phone was seized and analysis showed messages dating back to September 2022 showing she was dealing.
Amongst the messages, Picton received a complainant about the quality of the drugs she’d sold saying ‘What the f*** was that?’, to which she had replied ‘Coke, what else?’.
The messages also showed the defendant had sold drugs to a 15-year-old, who appeared to be buying for their 17-year-old partner.
Ms Carpanini said Picton enquired about their age, but “when told they are 15, she nevertheless continues with the sale”.
In interview, the defendant said the drugs found were for her personal use and there would be no evidence of drug dealing on her phone.
She said the only money going in to her bank account would’ve been from two friends she had lent money to, but Ms Carpanini told the court that enquiries showed several people had paid a total of around £5,700 in to her account over the six-month period.
Picton had one previous conviction for two offences of drug-driving after she was caught behind the wheel high on cannabis and cocaine which led to her losing her job as a learning support assistant.
The court heard 27-year-old Picton had been a drug addict, and Jon Tarrant, in mitigation, said the delay in her pleading guilty was because she was “absolutely terrified”.
“That was born out of complete fear of what was going to happen to her,” he said.
“This is clearly a situation which developed.
“She chose to become involved in that for what is a relatively short period in those seven months or so.
“Anybody who deals in Class A drugs to this level, there is only one way to go.”
Sentencing Picton, Judge Catherine Richards said: “The use of Class A drugs ruins the lives of individuals, their families and friends.”
Referring to the sale to the 15-year-old, Judge Richards said: “It’s astonishing that someone who has chosen to work with children has made those choices.”
She jailed the defendant for a total of three years.
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