A childminder who sent obscene text messages to a 13-year-old boy she had been looking after escaped a jail sentence yesterday.

Debbie Jane Lane, 35, a married mother of two and former Venture Scout leader, admitted she sent the texts to the boy, whose mother was a close friend.

Lane, who blamed her behaviour on anti-depressant drugs, was sentenced to three years' probation and 200 hours' community service at Dunfermline Sheriff Court.

Her name was put on the sex offenders' register and she was banned from being alone with children except her own.

Sheriff Ian Dunbar said: "You have admitted sending a series of obscene text messages to a boy who at the time was not yet 14. I have seen the contents of these messages and they are indeed all of the most explicit nature.

"The effects on the boy have been traumatic and it is clear this continues to affect him on a daily basis."

The victim's mother, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said: "We are disappointed with the sentence because we believe if Debbie had been a man there is no doubt she would have been sent to jail.

"We waited a year just for community service. What upsets us most is that, in our eyes, a paedophile is someone who thinks about sex with children but does not necessarily have sex with a child.

"But the word paedophile has never been mentioned in this case just because it involves a woman. That a mother and a wife - not to mention a close friend - would do something like this is terrifying."

The sheriff told the court he could recall few similar cases.

"The charge of this sort is not one which one normally sees committed by a female. I do not see that the work to address your behaviour that appears to be required could be done in a custodial setting.

"This is due to the relatively short length of sentence that might be appropriate and the fact that prison resources to deal with sex offenders tend to concentrated on male sex offenders."

The court was told that Lane had developed a close relationship with the boy after his parents split up, and she attempted to help his mother cope.

The boy's mother became concerned when she found a text message Lane sent her son on January 16 last year.

She alerted police who took her son's phone and found Lane had sent several similar text messages to the boy.

Procurator-fiscal John Keir said: "The boy's mother noticed her son and Lane were becoming quite close. This was explained by him needing another adult in the absence of his father. But their apparent closeness became something of a concern to his mother."

Lane, of Fairykirk Road, Rosyth, Fife, admitted sending texts to the boy between January 1 and January 16, 2006.

Her lawyer, Ian Beatson, told the court Lane suffered from the chronic fatigue syndrome ME and deeply regretted her actions.

Lane refused to comment on leaving court.

The case has split the community where both families live. A neighbour, Isabell Ritchie, said of the Lanes: "They are exceptionally nice people, and the way some of the neighbours have treated them is a disgrace. Some neighbours have come with their children and spat on their car."

But another neighbour said: "What kind of woman - a mother - would do that to a child?"

Kenny MacAskill, SNP justice spokesman, said: "Thankfully we don't have many instances of this kind of offence, but if (rehabilitation) services are only geared towards male sex offenders that is something the Scottish Prison Service should look at.

"The trauma is the same for the child whether it is a man or a woman committing the offence."

James Duffy, chief executive of the Scout Association's Scottish Council, was concerned to learn of offences of abuse of trust between an adult and a young person.