Latest Offenders Caerphilly

Description

A Welsh paedophile has been banned from going to children’s parks and swimming pools after he sexually abused a young boy.

Andrew Rowe, 47, from Caerphilly was jailed for six months after he admitted assaulting a boy under the age of 13 by touching.

The offence took place last month on September 25, prosecutor Michael Williams said.

Newport magistrates were asked to take in account Rowe’s guilty plea.

The defendant, of no fixed abode, will have to register as a sex offender for the next seven years.

A seven-year sexual harm prevention order was imposed which places a number of restrictions on Rowe once he is released from prison.

One of these prohibits him: “From attending places where large numbers of children are likely to be present, such as a play area in a park, sports fields where children’s clubs are participating or leisure facilities such as swimming pools."

Description

A MAN who shared a child abuse film with fellow paedophiles was also caught with “sadistic” images showing depraved acts committed against babies and young children.

David Owen from Caerphilly was part of an online chat group when he passed around a category A indecent video showing a five-year-old being sexually assaulted.

Category A images depict the worse kind of child abuse.

Owen had also been talking about the sexual abuse of children with other members of the group.

Police found nearly 100 indecent images on the defendant’s iPhone when they raided the 41-year-old’s home address.

Alexander Greenwood, prosecuting, told Cardiff Crown Court they discovered 31 category A, 24 category B and 39 category C images on Owen’s iPhone.

The victims were aged between six months old and 10.

Owen admitted distributing an indecent image of a child, possessing a prohibited image of a child and three counts of possessing an indecent image of a child.

The defendant, of Bryn-Rhedyn, was also found with bestiality images of adults having sex with animals.

He further admitted possessing an extreme pornographic image.

The offences were committed between November 11, 2022 and December 20, 2022.

Owen, represented by Ben Waters, was a man of previous good character with no convictions recorded against him.

The court was asked to give the defendant the appropriate credit for his guilty pleas.

Judge Carl Harrison said to Owen: “You had sadistic material which showed the victims suffering, some of them as young as six months old.

“Your offending is further aggravated by the fact that you were part of an active network.”

He jailed the defendant for two years and two months and told him he would have to register as a sex offender for the next 10 years.

Owen was also made the subject of a sexual harm prevention for 10 years and ordered to pay a £228 victim surcharge following his release form prison.

Description

A PAEDOPHILE jailed for 20 years for repeatedly raping a young girl was caught after she saw an NSPCC sex education talk at her school.

Andrew Flecknell’s victim told her mother of his “hideous” abuse following the showing of the children’s charity PANTS programme.

The 38-year-old defendant from the Bedwas area of Caerphilly was condemned by Judge Lucy Crowther who told him: “This was a campaign of rape.”

Flecknell sexually assaulted the girl “more times than she can remember”.

Clare Wilks, prosecuting, said that the child’s mother made a victim impact statement on her behalf which she read at Cardiff Crown Court.

It stated: “This has had a massive impact on her.

“I still don’t feel as if this is real, it’s heart-breaking. This is hideous.

“She amazes me with her bravery and resilience.”

The victim was described as a “fun, caring and smart child” who could now become “upset for no reason”.

Flecknell admitted four counts of rape and three of sexual assault.

Kevin Seal representing Flecknell said: “His best mitigation is his guilty pleas and he also has no previous convictions.

“He has suffered from anxiety and depression.

“The defendant has deficiencies in his thinking.

“He knows he’s going to receive a lengthy custodial sentence and that he deserves that.”

Judge Crowther told Flecknell: “It was as a result of the PANTS class that she told her mum of what you had done.

“She told her you had put your private parts into her.

“The victim said this had happened more times than she can remember.

“It is too early to say what the future holds for her.”

The judge added: “You initially denied that you had no sexual interest in children.

“That’s nonsense because you clearly do.

“You are a paedophile and you are sexually interested in children.

“You are a dangerous offender and you don’t seem to realise what you have done.”

Flecknell will have to register as a sex offender for life.

Description

A paedophile carried out years of sexual abuse against a girl which began when she was just six years old. As a result of the abuse, she tried to take her own life on two occasions.

David Devlin, 45, of Ystrad Mynach, Caerphilly, took advantage of his victim and told her not to report his sexual deviancy or he would be sent to prison. The abuse culminated with the defendant forcing the victim to perform a sex act on him and sexually assaulting her.

A sentencing hearing at Newport Crown Court on Friday heard hundreds of texts passed between Devlin and his victim, which was described by prosecutors as being "more like boyfriend and girlfriend". Judge Matthew Porter-Bryant described the texts as "grooming" behaviour, which sought to normalise his sexual behaviour in the victim's mind.

The victim first told her family and school about the sexual abuse in 2022 and Devlin was arrested. A search of his home led to a laptop being seized which was found to contain an indecent image of a child. An image of bestiality was also discovered on the defendant's phone.

Devlin, of Station Road, denied the allegations but he was found guilty of six counts of sexual assault of a child, one count of assault by penetration of a child, two counts of causing/inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, possession of an indecent image and possession of an extreme image. The court heard he was of a previous good character.

In a victim personal statement read to the court by prosecutor Joshua Scouller, the victim said: "When I first told school and family about what was happening, I closed myself off from friends, family and the outside world. I wouldn't leave my room and go outside with friends. I wouldn't do normal things like eat or drink. I would stay in my room and not want to leave. I would get up in the night with nightmares and flashbacks...

"I am scared of people now, I know what people are capable of. I feel I am constantly depressed and have felt like this for the last two years. I feel numb and angry to the outside world and sad when I am alone. At times I haven't felt like getting out of bed, I don't go on my phone or fall asleep, I lie there thinking about everything that's happened with Dave and cry... One day I was really struggling with it all and I decided to kill myself." The victim said she took an overdose of tablets and later told a school counsellor what she had done, and was taken to hospital. She also attempted to take her own life on a second occasion, and harmed herself with knives and lighters.

In mitigation, it was said Devlin still maintains his innocence and claimed the victim was after compensation. As a result of his convictions he has lost his job and accepts he has "let people down". Sentencing, Judge Porter-Bryant said the defendant is a "high risk of serious harm to female children" and used "grooming and manipulation" to sexually abuse his victim.

Devlin was sentenced to eight years and six months imprisonment, with an extended licence period of two years and six months, after being found to be a dangerous offender. He will serve two thirds of the custodial sentence before he will be eligible for parole. The defendant was also made subject to sex offender notification requirements, and will be made subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and a restraining order at a later hearing.

Description

A PAEDOPHILE ex-football coach told a 12-year-old boy he was gorgeous and that he would love to have sex with him.

David Robb, 82, from Caerphilly sent his victim ‘Mario’ an indecent picture of another boy who had his buttocks exposed.

He was also having sexualised chats online with a 14-year-old called ‘Luca’.

The pensioner’s offending took place just weeks after he had been handed a suspended sentence after being caught with child rape videos.

A police officer supervising his sex offender order found Robb was using a tablet and mobile phone he had hidden from them when his home was visited.

Robb had also used software to “self-destruct” his browsing history within 24 hours of the search which also breached the terms of the order.

Nil Strobl, prosecuting, told Cardiff Crown Court: “The defendant was communicating with a boy called Mario.

“He told him, ‘My favourite age is 12 or 13.’

“The defendant said to him, ‘I think you are gorgeous – I’d love to have sex with you.’”

Robb, of Edward Street, Cwmcarn pleaded guilty to two counts of engaging in sexual communication with a child, distributing an indecent image of a child, possession of an indecent image of a child and breaching a sexual harm prevention order.

They took place between August and September last year.

He has a history of sex offences committed against children.

In 1976 he received a suspended prison sentence for sexually assaulting a girl.

The defendant was convicted of a sex offence in 1990 when he was the manager of a children’s football team.

Robb had persuaded a boy to sleep in the same bed as him before an attempted sex act took place.

He was sentenced to a community order in 2015 for possession of an indecent image of a child.

Laurence Jones representing Robb said his client knew he was going to receive a long prison sentence and understood he might now die behind bars.

The court heard the defendant’s wife had passed away while he was remanded in custody awaiting sentence.

“It seems to me, having discussed matters with him, that in the past these feelings (of being sexually attracted to young boys) had been repressed by fatherhood, work and caring for his wife,” Mr Jones added.

Robb was jailed for 45 months and made the subject of a 10-year sexual harm prevention order.

The defendant will have to register as a sex offender until 2034.

Description

GWENT Police have released the custody picture of a paedophile caught defying sex offender register terms.

Dewi Mortimer broke the law by not telling his supervising officer of numerous nights he had spent away from home.

The defendant stayed at the Premier Inn hotel in Caerphilly with a girlfriend 20 times.

Mortimer also breached a sex offences prevention order by deleting the internet history on his mobile phone after searching for dating sites.

He admitted both charges.

The 27-year-old was locked up for 14 months at Cardiff Crown Court.

Mortimer, formerly of Blackwood, now of Bradford Street, Caerphilly was jailed in 2020 for grooming a 15-year-old schoolgirl and sending a lewd picture of himself to her on Snapchat.

Description

A convicted paedophile sexually assaulted a 16-year-old girl he approached in the street by touching her breasts and vagina and forcibly kissing her. After the assault, he grabbed hold of her mobile and entered his phone number.

Jonathan Swift, 34, approached his young victim in Caerphilly at around 5.45pm on April 9. She did not know the defendant, who asked her for a lighter. He went on to ask her if she was single, and when being told she was 16-years-old he told her she looked older and lied about his own age.

A sentencing hearing at Cardiff Crown Court heard Swift followed her before grabbing her hand and pulling her onto a bench. She tried to get up and leave but he grabbed her and kissed her. The victim pushed him away and told him she needed to go home. The defendant pulled her back onto the bench and kissed her on the lips, forcibly putting his tongue in her mouth.

Prosecutor Ffion Tomos said Swift then put his hands down her top and touched her breasts as the victim continued to struggle. He then exposed his penis for two to three minutes and asked the girl if they could "go somewhere more discreet". A passer by walked past, and the defendant put his penis away.

He then placed his hands down her trousers and began sexually assaulting her. The victim later described the attack as "painful" and pulled his hand out of her trousers. Swift asked her to come to his house, but she again repeated she wanted to go home and tried to walk away

The defendant kept trying to pull her back, asked her if she was on Snapchat before grabbing her phone and entered his mobile phone into the device. Eventually, the victim managed to escape and raised the alarm by messaging a friend.

The police were called and Swift, of Snowden Court, was arrested the next day and interviewed, claiming he was drunk and sexual contact was consensual. He later pleaded guilty to assault by penetration and sexual assault.

The court heard the defendant was convicted of sexual assault in 2010, when he attacked a woman at a bus stop. He later breached a Sexual Harm Prevention Order by approaching a 13-year-old and he was sentenced to seven years imprisonment in 2017 for sexual activity with a child under 16, who he had sex with in an alleyway. He was on licence at the time of the current offence.

In a victim personal statement read to the court, the 16-year-old victim said: "Since the incident it has completely ruined my independence and confidence. I never leave the house alone when I go out and make sure I am with friends because I am in constant fear it could happen again at any time. I have lost all trust with anyone I do not know. I used to be able to go out with friend without thinking of being attacked by a stranger. I constantly need to keep myself busy to take my mind off what happened that day.

"Sometimes in school I lose focus on my work as my memory takes me back to that horrible incident. The trauma even affects my sleep, before bed when I am trying to drift off I get flashbacks from the incident and it's like I'm reliving it. I constantly look over my shoulder when I am out and I am worried I will be attacked again. No teenager should go through what I have gone through. I am happy the man who did this to me is in prison, I think that's where he should stay. He's a dangerous man and I do not want him to do this to others."

In mitigation, David Rees said his client was "deeply remorseful" and was in drink at the time of the offence. He said the defendant had been "outed" as a convicted sex offender in November last year and had experienced "repercussions, abuse and threats".

Sentencing, Judge Lucy Crowther said: "You don't have any understanding of the impact of your offending. You said you are not attracted to young females despite your offending history. You have sought to minimise and justify your behaviour on this occasion in exactly the same way you have before...

"You are a sexual predator and you pose a significant risk of serious harm to members of the public, specifically young girls and young women... You are a dangerous offender."

Swift was sentenced to eight years imprisonment, with an extended licence period of six years. He will serve two thirds of the custodial sentence before he is considered for parole. The defendant was also made subject to a restraining order for 30 years and remains subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and sex offender notification requirements for life.

Description

A PAEDOPHILE identified using the dark web was caught with thousands of pictures and videos of child sex abuse.

National Crime Agency officers identified the monikers of various users of the dark web site ‘The Camp Fire’. Using the users’ IP addresses, they were able to find out their identities. One of the users was Jordan Waddon.

Police officers searched Waddon’s home – in Pen Y Bryn in Penyrheol, Caerphilly – on the morning of October 15, 2020.

“Mr Waddon made admissions from the word go,” prosecutor Nigel Fryer said.

Thousands of child sexual abuse images were discovered across three laptops which were recovered.

Of the material found, 236 pictures and 89 videos of the most serious level of abuse – Category A – were discovered, along with more than 1,000 pictures and videos in Category B and 3,589 pictures and 17 videos in Category C.

“He understood what the dark web was. He understood what ‘The Camp Fire’ was for,” said Mr Fryer.

“He said he had been using the dark web as long ago as 2014.”

Claire Wilks, defending, said Waddon was “led astray” by other dark web users exploiting him at a young age.

“The defendant himself was initially a child victim who was exploited himself,” she said. “He was groomed.

“It’s rather a sad state of affairs.”

She added that Waddon, now 24, had not reoffended since his arrest in 2020.

Judge Neil Bidder described Waddon as living “an isolated existence”.

He sentenced Waddon to a 24-month community order, 40 days rehabilitation activity requirement, 120 hours of unpaid work, and must complete Maps for Change work.

He was made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order and must register as a sex offender – both for five years.

“If you break this order, it’s prison. It’s that simple,” the judge warned Waddon.

Description

Sam Picone, 24, from Caerphilly, worked with vulnerable students at a high school and volunteered at a club for gymnasts aged between six and 14.

He had been watching indecent images involving children aged between four and 14 as well as extreme pornography showing sex between adults and animals.

Georgina Buckley, prosecuting, told Cardiff Crown Court: This case relates to images found on the defendants telephone.

A search warrant was executed at his parents address on February 16 and the police were told he had moved out of the address and was likely on his way to work.

The defendant was working as a teaching assistant in a comprehensive school in the Cardiff area and it is understood that his role involved working directly with vulnerable children.

The police caught up with him at school and when confronted with the allegations he told them he had seen indecent images online on his mobile phone but had not saved them.

He then handed his mobile phone to the police and gave them access.

Miss Buckley added: Following his arrest he told the police about a section within the Snapchat app labelled For My Eyes Only.

It is relevant that within this section was a number of images that appeared to relate to the gymnastics club of which the defendant volunteered.

None of these images were indecent but were considered by the police as inappropriate It is understood the defendant volunteered at a local gymnastic club in his spare time and the children who attend there are aged between six and 14 years of age.

Picone pleaded guilty to making 13 category A images, the most serious kind, three category B and four category C images.

Both the school and club were not named at Cardiff Crown Court.

Picone also admitted possession of an extreme pornographic image.

The court was told that the defendant, represented by Ben Waters, had no previous convictions.

Judge Niclas Parry told Picone: What you need to understand, and Im sure that you do, is that everything you were viewing was actually happening to these children and these dreadful and disgraceful things happen because people are viewing them.

He added: There is significant mitigation. First of all youve pleaded guilty immediately.

Secondly, youve never been in trouble before.

Thirdly, youve lost everything your job, the career that youve trained for and the voluntary work that youve trained for.

Picone, of Maes Y Drudwen, Caerphilly, was sentenced to a three-year community order.

The defendant was made the subject of a 30-day rehabilitation activity order and he must complete the Horizon sex offender programme and carry out 80 hours of unpaid work.

He will have to register as a sex offender for the next five years and was made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order for the same period.

Description

A PAEDOPHILE who sexually abused a schoolgirl when she was aged between eight and 10 around 40 years ago has been jailed.

Michael Patrick, 62, from Caerphilly, committed the offences when he was a young man twice his victims age.

Cardiff Crown Court heard how the defendant had learning difficulties and was childlike and interacted with children as a result.

Patrick, of Gwerna Crescent, Maesycwmmer, admitted one count of indecent assault and was convicted of another charge of indecent assault following a trial.

The offences were committed between 1979 and 1982 in the Caerphilly county area.

Ieuan Rees, representing Patrick, said this was a sad case in many ways.

In mitigation he added how his client had led a very isolated life and had already served the equivalent of a seven-month prison sentence after being remanded in custody.

Judge Catherine Richards told Patrick: I have to sentence you for two occasions when you sexually assaulted and abused a young girl aged eight to 10 years of age.

The impact upon her is clear the impact of offending of this kind is lifelong.

You were twice her age and even though she knew you were childlike in your ways, she also knew you were an adult and you were clearly making her do things that she had no way of understanding, processing or consenting to.

She added: I have to take into account your own limitations as set out in the psychiatric and pre-sentence report as they affect your culpability with the result that this should be a lower starting point for you as compared to someone without your limitations.

Your victim described you as a lot more childlike and you interacted with children as a result.

The psychiatric assessment confirms in particular that you have an autism spectrum disorder and a prior diagnosis of learning disabilities as well as a schizoaffective personality disorder.

The judge told the defendant he was not prepared for adult sexuality in a way that was necessary for those with your difficulties.

Patrick was jailed for five years.

He was told he will have to register as a sex offender for life and was made subject of an indefinite sexual harm prevention order.

Description

Previously Lee Lewitt, now goes by Jago Lee

Update July 2022

A PAEDOPHILE paramedic and ex-RAF serviceman caught with nearly 10,000 child abuse images hid his dark past from his new girlfriend.

Jago Lee, 38, was caught out by Gwent Police after he failed to tell them he was staying overnight at his partners address.

He was ordered to register as a sex offender for 10 years following his conviction for making indecent images of children and possession of extreme pornography.

The defendant had been handed an 18-month suspended prison sentence at Truro Crown Court for these offences in March 2021.

Lee had left his home in Cornwall and settled in the Gwent area.

A paramedic and ex-RAF serviceman has avoided prison despite being caught with nearly 10,000 sick child abuse images. Lee Lewitt, 37, had material showing the rape of infants as young as 12 months old and humans having sex with animals.

Lewitt, of Summercourt, appeared at Truro Crown Court where he admitted three charges of possession indecent images of children and possession 10 extreme pornographic images.

Prosecuting the case, Michael Brown described how intelligence was gained regarding Lewitts use of a cloud storage device to store indecent images.

Police searched Lewitts home and seized a number of devices. An interrogation of an iPhone showed a huge number of indecent images, both still and moving, some of the images showing children as young as 12 months old being abused. They were amassed between November 2018 and May 2020.

In total Lewitt was found to have 2,721 Category A images, 1,456 Category B, 3,529 Category C and 10 extreme pornographic images showing humans having sex with animals.

In his first interview Lewitt said he was addicted to adult pornography and must have accessed the indecent images by mistake. However, in his second interview he made full admissions.

Representing Lewitt, Chris Spencer told the court how he works as a paramedic and was formerly in the RAF, completing three tours of Iraq. Mr Spencer added Lewitts experiences left him receiving treatment for post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and that he accepts his career is now finished.

Sentencing dad-of-three Lewitt, Judge Simon Carr said he had downloaded a significant number of child abuse images.

Judge Carr said: I appreciate you are an intelligent man so you should be able to appreciate the enormity of what youve done.

Let me spell it out for you. Every day tens of thousands of children are raped for the enjoyment of people like you. The people raping the children dont do it because of a sexual interest, they do it because its a business.

Many hold people like you just as responsible, I certainly do.

Judge Carr went on to state that Lewitts good character, the fact hes showed remorse and sought treatment since his offending and realistic chance of rehabilitation meant he could suspend what would otherwise be an immediate custodial sentence.

Lewitt was given an 18-month sentence suspended for two years. He must also complete relevant treatment programme and 100 hours of unpaid work. Lewitt was made subject of a sexual harm prevention order.

Description

A BARGOED man has been jailed for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl - and his victim has been commended for her bravery in reporting the crime to the police.

Daniel Bateman, 33, admitted two counts of sexual assault dating back to April last year.

The hearing at Cardiff Crown Court today was told Bateman's assault had a "considerable impact" on his victim's life.

She had been prescribed medication following the incident and had considered taking her own life, the court heard.

Ieuan Bennett, prosecuting, said Bateman had told the police officers who arrested him he had been "smashed" at the time of the incident.

James Evans, defending, said Bateman's position was that he had "no recollection" of what happened but this was disputed by the judge, citing one of Bateman's own written statements earlier denying the charges against him.

Bateman later pleaded guilty to the offences, the court was told.

Judge Richard Williams told Bateman: "You continue to play down what you did [and] there does not appear to be a reasonable prospect for rehabilitation."

He added: "When an adult subjects a girl to this... inevitably a custodial sentence must be passed."

He jailed Bateman for 19 months and made him the subject of a sexual harm prevention order, covering 10 years, and a restraining order, also covering 10 years.

Following the hearing, Gwent Police detective inspector Jamie Cooper said: I would like to commend the bravery of the victim who came forward to report Bateman to police. It is because of her courage to speak out that Bateman is now behind bars.

I hope that this sentence imposed will help her and her family to move on and bring closure to this awful chapter in their lives.

I hope that this result sends a message to anyone else who has suffered, or is currently suffering abuse, that they can come forward and any allegations will be taken seriously.

I cannot imagine how difficult it must be to come forward to report such appalling crimes but I want to reassure anyone considering doing so that there is a whole range of support out there, not only from the police but from partner agencies who can help you through the entire process.

Gwent Police will continue to work tirelessly to protect children and bring perpetrators of child abuse to justice.

Description

A PEADOPHILE who met up with an underage girl at Machynlleth train station has been jailed for nine and a half years.

Mark Owen, 49, wept as he was told by a judge on Wednesday that he was a high risk to any girl aged under 16.

Owen met the girl at the towns railway station and kissed and cuddled her.

But Swansea Crown Court heard there was no doubt his plans involved having sexual intercourse with her and even making her pregnant.

Owen, from Caerphilly, was under licence from prison and the subject of a restraining order at the time for previous sexual offences against underage girls.

But, said Judge Peter Heywood, that did not stop him from making contact with the girl over the internet.

Her mother became annoyed to find she had exceeded her mobile telephone messages allowance for the second month running.

She examined the phone and was horrified and alarmed to discover messages her daughter and Owen had swapped.

She sent Owen a message of her own and telephoned him to tell him she would contact the police.

Judge Heywood said Owen had shared more than 1,400 messages or conversations with the girl, including 161 on 26 September 2015, the day he travelled to Machynlleth to meet her.

They included messages, from him to her, reading, I can imagine what it will be like on Saturday. Straight to the woods and well do it in the woods.

We would be at it all night. How many babies would you want, honey?

Sexual intercourse did not take place that day, added Judge Heywood, but it was clear that in the days following, Owen made more arrangements to meet up.

After his arrest he denied contacting the girl at all.

But CCTV cameras had filmed him in Machynlleth even though he had pulled up a hood and put on sunglasses.

Judge Heywood said that even while in jail on remand Owen wrote to the girl asking her to send him photographs of her.

When police spoke to him about that he again denied responsibility, but a handwriting expert could prove he had written the letter.

Owen admitted sexual activity with a girl aged under 16, breaching the terms of his licence from prison and a sexual harm prevention order.

The court heard that in 2006 Owen had been made the subject of a community order for sexual activity with three girls aged under 13.

In 2009 he was jailed for five years for sexual activity with a girl aged under 16 and breaching the terms of the previous sentence, with an extended licence period of three years.

Judge Heywood said Owen was clearly a dangerous offender.

Because of the threats he had made against the Machynlleth girl she had become too afraid to leave her home even though she had been told he was in prison.

You are highly predatory and have a deviant interest in young girls, he added.

Owen was jailed for nine and a half years and told he could not even apply for parole until he had served six years and four months.

Description

Living in Cardiff area since release.

A serial rapist who used his minimum experience as a soldier to seduce women has been jailed indefinitely.

Tyrone Clarke, of Hengoed, Caerphilly county, was convicted of 10 charges including rape, false imprisonment, causing actual bodily harm and kidnap.

The court heard he had dropped out of the Royal Marines after nine weeks.

The 36-year-old was given an indefinite sentence at Cardiff Crown Court but must serve at least seven years behind bars before being assessed for parole.

The Recorder of Cardiff, Nicholas Cooke QC, told Clarke: "I find you to be an extremely callous and devious threat to women.

"You will continue to present a risk of grave sexual, physical and psychological harm to women for a very long period."

The former nightclub doorman chatted up women with stories about his supposed 12 years in the Marines and going on missions with the SAS.

He attacked four women after warning he could kill them with his bare hands from his military training.

Prosecutor Greg Taylor QC said: "The fact is he was obsessed with the Marines but had never seen active service.

"He did some Marines basic training in Plymouth but requested to leave before the demanding training began.

"He told one woman he used to be 6ft tall but lost four inches in height after jumping out of a plane.

"He said he had weapons and knew how to hurt people and make them disappear.

"He held one woman by the throat, telling her: 'I've spent 12 years in the Marines and I'm trained - I could squeeze you and you would be dead'."

Weapons hidden

One 18-year-old woman reported Clarke to police and then other victims came forward.

One rape victim said he told her there were weapons hidden in the garden.

"I thought it would be guns and military things. I did believe it - I never looked," she said.

She said she had a "whirlwind" romance with Clarke but he would later interrogate her about sleeping with other men.

Mr Taylor said: "Clarke impressed women by appearing caring and understanding, before intimidating and controlling them.

"Rape is not always committed by a hooded man jumping out of the bushes - Clarke is a serial rapist."

Greg Bull, defending, said: "Being in prison away from women is not his problem. His problem will be when he comes back into society."

After the hearing CPS Gwent sexual offences specialist, Kath Coleman, said: "Tyrone Clarke subjected his victims to degrading attacks which left devastating emotional scars as well as physical ones.

"He used intimidation and bullying to get his own way and was ruthless in the way he his exploited his victims.

"We want to send out a clear message that CPS Gwent and Gwent police will do everything in our power to bring violent sexual offenders to justice."

The jury failed to reach verdicts in respect of five further charges against Clarke, and CPS Gwent confirmed that it would not be seeking a retrial.