I got a restraining order after school run sexual harassment

A horrified mother has revealed she was sexually harassed by a father during the school flight.

Sabrina Cowley, 43, from Knutsford, Cheshire, thought Simon Rowland, 50, was just a friendly parent when he started talking to her in the schoolyard.

But she soon felt uncomfortable after he made lewd comments about her skirt and gave her his hotel room number.

Rowland, who made headlines in 2017 after winning £44,000 from a scratch card, was issued a restraining order in November 2022 and ordered to stay away from Sabrina.

The mother-of-three said: ‘I tried to ignore him for as long as possible, but in the playground it became very uncomfortable. It was creepy at first, but then I started to feel intimidated and anxious.

“Since he has been in court, I have been mistreated by members of his family, but I am a victim of it all.

“It’s not okay for certain men to treat women like objects and say whatever comes to mind. Attitudes need to change, and I hope I can help by speaking out.”

Sabrina first started talking to Rowland early in the summer of 2022 when they dropped their kids off at elementary school, and he seemed friendly at first.

She said, “He had mastered an amputation and told me he had an accident and that’s why he was a stay-at-home dad.

“He was fine at first, just another parent, but then he started saying, ‘Hello, beautiful,’ and telling me how nice I looked.”

“I teach pole fitness classes and I’m used to guys trying to cross the line every now and then, thinking they can push the boundaries, so I just gave him the cold shoulder.

“But one day I was leaning in my car and clipped into my daughter’s car seat, and he got right behind me and said, ‘Well, Christmas came early.’

Simon Rowland, 50, who made headlines in 2017 after winning £44,000 from a scratch card, was given a restraining order in November 2022 and ordered to stay away from Sabrina

Sabrina alleged that Simon made lewd comments about her skirt and gave her his hotel room number

“It was really creepy. I was shocked and told him he was inappropriate.’

But days later, Sabrina saw Rowland sitting on a pub wall across from her house.

The single mother, who also runs a market stall, said: ‘He told me he was having problems with his wife and he was staying at a nearby hotel.

‘He gave me his room number and told me to come along if I wanted some company. Of course I declined.

“He tapped my car window one day and said to me, ‘You looked so fit in that little black skirt the other day. I’ve never come out of school with an erection.”

“I was shocked and decided enough was enough. I couldn’t even take my daughter to school without sexual harassment.

Sabrina first started talking to Rowland in the summer of 2022 when they dropped their kids off at elementary school, and he seemed friendly at first

Sabrina said the harassment started out “really cringey” and she was later “shaken up” by the inappropriate behavior

In November 2022, Rowland of Knutsford, Cheshire, admitted to being harassed without violence

He was sentenced to community service and a 12-month restraining order. He was also ordered to pay £395 costs

‘I spoke to the teaching staff and then went to the police. I have been a victim of harassment in the past and I have put up with it for too long. I was determined not to make the same mistake again.”

In November 2022, Rowland of Knutsford, Cheshire, admitted to being harassed without violence.

He was sentenced to community service and a 12-month restraining order. He was also ordered to pay £395 costs.

Sabrina said, “Since the court case, I’ve been getting horrible messages on social media that it’s my fault.

In fact, I am the victim and it is important that women – and men – feel confident to speak up about inappropriate behaviour.

“I’ve found the courage to speak out against a school-run sleaze ball and I think it will make other women safer.”