Latest Offenders Swansea

Description

A paedophile who went on the run to the Costa del Sol and was tracked down to a Spanish prison has been given an extended sentence as a dangerous sex offender.

After being brought back to Wales Simon Dove was given a suspended sentence and made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order designed to control his online behaviour - but just weeks later he bought a laptop and started downloading images of child sex abuse, and installing software designed to hide his activities.

Sending the 51-year-old down, a judge said he posed a high risk of causing sexual harm to children.

Jim Davies, prosecuting, told Swansea Crown Court that in September 2009 officers investigating the downloading of indecent images went to an address in Port Talbot looking for Dove. Present at the property was the daughter of the defendant's former partner, and she handed over two of his computers. An examination of the drives found the presence of indecent images.

The following January police went to an address in London where Dove was staying and seized a number of electronic devices, including a laptop computer. Again indecent images were found along with evidence the defendant had been communicating with fellow paedophiles on Yahoo Messenger and sharing pictures via peer-to-peer file sharing software.

Dove was interviewed and released on bail but then fled the country and disappeared. While on the run, the defendant was charged with 34 counts of making and distributing indecent images and one of possessing extreme pornography,

The defendant came to the attention of police again - Spanish this time - in July 2016 when officers raided a property on the Costa del Sol and seized computer equipment which contained 7,000 indecent images, some of them "of the very worst kind" showing young children being sexually tortured. Spanish police also found Dove had again been sharing the images with like-minded people through peer-to-peer software.

The prosecutor said Dove was sentenced to five years in prison by a court in Malaga, and then in 2020 he was extradited back to the UK.

The defendant appeared in Swansea Crown Court last July where he was sentenced to a total of 18 months in prison suspended for 18 months, ordered him to complete 200 hours of unpaid work and a rehabilitation course, and was made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) for the offending committed before he went on the run to Spain.

But within weeks Dove was breaching that order.

The court heard that in December 2021 police in Swansea received information that the defendant owned an internet-enabled device which he had not told them about. Officers searched the room in the Oystermouth Road guesthouse where he was living and found a mini laptop computer hidden under the duvet. On the device were indecent images as well as a link to online cloud storage which contained scores of videos of child sex abuse.

The court heard the laptop also had cleaning software to wipe files, an app for a virtual private network or VPN which allows users to hide their internet identity, and the Kik messaging app. The prosecutor said officers also found apps which linked to 14 different email accounts. In total police found he had 175 indecent images and videos of children as young as four, and that 68 of them were in Category A - that is videos and pictures showing the rape of children and other sexual violence. Dove had begun downloading the pictures in September, just a matter of weeks after being given the suspended sentence and SHPO.

Simon Matthew Dove, formerly of Port Talbot but now of Oystermouth Road, Swansea, had previously pleaded guilty to four counts of possessing indecent images and to breaching a SHPO when he appeared in the dock for sentencing.

Huw Davies, for Dove, said the defendant was "contrite" and wanted to tell the court that it was his intention not to repeat the offences. He said his client indicated he would comply with any orders made by the court, and was willing to work with the authorities to reduce the risk of him re-offending.

Judge Catherine Richards told Dove that by his actions in downloading the indecent pictures and videos he was "supporting the abuse and rape of young girls, and the worst kinds of sexual violence".

She said his behaviour following the imposition of the suspended sentence and SHPO had been deliberate and planned, and in her view and in the view of the author of the pre-sentence report he should be considered a dangerous offender who posed a high risk of sexual harm to children. As such, she said, an extended sentence was necessary.

With one-quarter discounts for his guilty pleas Dove was made the subject of an extended sentence of four years and three months comprising two years and three months in custody followed by a two-year extended licence. He must serve two-thirds of the custodial element of the sentence before he can apply for release but it will be for the Parole Board to determine if he is safe to be let out. He will be a registered sex offender for the next 10 years.

Description

A man who subjected a young girl to a string of sickening sexual assaults rang police almost two decades later to report what he had done.

Kenneth Kesans, who also goes by the name Kenneth Rowles, told officers he needed to "come clean" about what he had done in his past.

Swansea Crown Court heard the abuse he subjected his victim to in the early 2000s has had a devastating effect on her life.

The 43-year-old defendant has now been given an extended sentence as an offender of particular concern.

Carina Hughes, prosecuting, told the court that Kesans carried out a series of indecent assaults on the girl over a lengthy period which culminated in an attempted rape of the crying child. On occasions he plied the girl with alcohol, made her perform sex acts on him, and threatened her into silence.

The court heard the abuse went unreported for almost two decades until 2021 when Kesans rang the police from a public phone box in Swansea 's Maritime Quarter. During the call he told officers he couldn't stop thinking about what he had done, adding: "I need to get it off my chest - I need to come clean."

Miss Hughes said police tracked down the victim of the abuse, and went to her house to speak to her. The woman told them she had always been terrified that if she did report the abuse it would her word against his, and nobody would believe her.

In a statement from the victim which was read to the court she detailed the devastating impact the abuse has had on her life, saying she as a youngster she became socially isolated and withdrawn, then started self-harming and suffered nightmares of having snakes in her bed. She said she had felt embarrassed and ashamed at what had happened but it wasn't until she had gone to university that she had sought counselling - though even then she had not disclosed the abuse to her counsellor.

Kenneth John Kesans, of Heol Frank, Penlan, Swansea, had previously pleaded guilty to one count of attempted rape and to seven counts of indecent assault when he appeared in the dock for sentencing.

David Singh, for Kesans, said the fact the defendant had contacted the police to report the offending demonstrated a degree of "responsibility, remorse and regret" for what he had put the complainant through.

Recorder Mark Powell QC told Kesans he had committed extremely serious offences, offences which meant he was regarded as what is known as an offender of particular concern.

He said it was clear from what he had heard and read about the victim that she was a young woman of "considerable fortitude", and he said she should feel no shame of guilt over what the defendant had done to her.

With one-third discounts for his guilty pleas Kesans was given a 13-year extended sentence comprising 12 years in custody with an extended one-year licence period. He will be a registered sex offender for the rest of his life, and was made the subject of an indefinite sexual harm prevention order.

Description

A pensioner who was a respected member of the local community sexually abused a young girl and downloaded vile images, a court has heard.

Paul Davis groomed his victim with gifts of sweets and subjected her to sexual assaults. The 74-year-old also masturbated in front of a child at Swansea's main leisure centre.

When the offending was reported to police and officers checked his phone and other devices they found more than 1,200 child abuse images - some featuring girls as young as four - along with a haul of photographs showing bestiality.

Sending Davis to prison, a judge told him while he was a man of "standing and status" in the local community, his family, friends and colleagues could not possibly of conceived of what he was really like.

Nicola Powell, prosecuting, told Swansea Crown Court that the offending came to light when the primary school-aged girl made disclosures to her parents about "embarrassing" things Davis had done to her. She said Davis touched her under and over her underwear, often giving her sweets as he did so. Police were contacted and an investigation launched, and officers then learned of an incident in Swansea 's LC leisure centre where the defendant had masturbated in the presence of a child while "smiling" at her.

The court heard that as part of their investigation officers seized and examined Davis' electronic devices and found more than 1,250 indecent images including 208 films and photographs classed as Category A showing the most extreme kinds of sexual abuse of children as young as four. Police also found 56 prohibited images - typically cartoon-type images showing sexual abuse - and 173 extreme pornographic images including photos of women having sex with horses and dogs.

The mother of the girl the pensioner sexually assaulted read a statement to the court in which she described the impact the abuse had on her daughter. She said she questioned her ability as a mother as she had not spotted what was happening to her child but said she was "in awe of my little daughter" for having the strength to report it.

Judge Paul Thomas QC told the woman that paedophiles such as Davis were devious individuals and she not should reproach herself for a moment, adding: "Tell your daughter I think she is very brave."

Davis, formerly of Upper Killay in Swansea but now of Heatherslade Road, Southgate, Gower, had previously pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a child under 13, engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child, possession of indecent images of Categories A, B and C, possession of prohibited images, and possession of extreme pornographic images when he appeared in the dock for sentencing.

Jon Anders, for Davis, said that before the offending the defendant had led an "industrious, hard-working, and decent life". He said since his arrest Davis has referred himself to the Lucy Faithfull Foundation, a charity which works to prevent child sexual abuse.

Judge Thomas said Davis had groomed his young victim with gifts of sweets, something he described as "classic paedophile behaviour".

He told the defendant he was a "committed paedophile" adding: "In the community you are a man of standing and status but you were living a lie. Your family, friends and work colleagues could not possibly have conceived of the man you really were."

The judge said he had read the letter which Davis had written to him, and it showed the defendant does not properly understand or accept the harm he has caused, and "is a man who is self-pitying rather than remorseful".

With discounts for his guilty pleas Davis was sentenced to a total of four years and nine months in prison. He will serve up to half that period in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community. The defendant will be a registered sex offender for the next 10 years, and was made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order to control his access to young girls for the same length of time.

Description

A Penclawdd man has been jailed for nine years following an intelligence-led operation by Tarian, the regional organised crime unit, along with South Wales Police. A previously convicted paedophile Steven Morris 58, from Penclawdd in Swansea appeared before Swansea Crown Court today for sentencing, where he had previously pleaded guilty to sexually communicating with a child, meeting a child following sexual grooming as well as breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order. He was arrested on the 14th October 2021 by detectives from Tarian Disruption Unit and investigated by Swansea Criminal Investigation Department, where he was remanded in custody until his appearance today. Morris engaged in conversation with what he believed to be a 13-year-old girl, who was in fact an undercover police officer. He told the officer Do mum and dad know u chat? My wife doesnt xxx. Upon hearing she was just 13 years old Morris stated As long as u arent police or gonna report me Im happy to chat and meet up if u are genuine. Morris conversations with the officer became more sexually explicit, he sent images of himself and began to suggest that the pair meet in person, saying things like If we meet it would be really secret xxxx. A date was then arranged for Morris to meet with the undercover officer at a location in Pontypridd on the 14th October 2021. Once he arrived at the agreed location he was quickly arrested by officers from TARIANs Disruption Team. Morris was given a nine-year extended sentence. Four of which will be spent in prison. He was placed on the Registered Sex Offenders list indefinitely, and was given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for 10 years. Detective Inspector Dave Bancroft said: This is an excellent operation between Tarian South Wales Police. It is our absolute priority to protect and keep children safe in our communities, irrelevant of who or where that threat comes from. Law enforcement operates across the internet, and we will relentlessly seek to bring to justice individuals who use the web to facilitate the abuse of children. If anyone has been a victim of child sexual abuse, I urge you to report it to your local police force via 101. We will always follow up allegations of abuse, no matter when they occurred. Victims can talk in confidence to experienced investigators and we can also help them get access to a range of other support services.

Description

A former swimming coach has been sentenced to nine years in prison for sexually assaulting three children.

Tom Piggot, 21, from Welshpool, was convicted of a total of 10 offences, all of which he had denied, including two counts of rape, at a trial at Mold Crown Court in July.

The convictions also included possessing indecent videos and and images of children, many of which were in the most serious category.

He claimed his devices had been hacked.

Following his trial, Det Con Steve Williams, from Dyfed Powys Police, said it would not have been possible to secure the conviction without the "strength and bravery" of the victims in coming forward.

He added that some of the images found on his devices were "among the worst" he had ever seen.

Following his sentencing on Monday, Sandra Subacchi of the Crown Prosecution Service said: "Tom Piggott claimed he had not had any sexual contact with his child victims, and that his electronic devices had been hacked. Claims that the jury rejected.

"Rape is a devastating crime which the CPS is committed to tackling, and we were able to do so in this instance by these courageous children speaking up."

Description

A man who attempted to lure who he thought was a 14-year-old girl to Swansea on the train was intercepted by a paedophile hunters group when he went to meet her.

Paul Leslie Lewis began messaging the profile purporting to be the teenager on Facebook messenger in May this year. It was actually a decoy profile being run by a paedophile hunter group called Black Flag Hunters.

Lewis began sending messages from a profile called 'Paul Rio' asking how old the girl was. She replied that she was "only 14" and he made out he was 28 - despite actually being 56. He told her he was from Swansea, and she replied that she was from Blackburn but had a grandmother who lived in Cardiff.

He told her that he worked for famous rock bands, and sent her a black and white picture of Queen along with others, including himself with a guitar and said it was himself performing. He turned the conversation to meeting up, and the decoy said "they had never met someone from the internet", and Lewis encouraged her to "try different things".

The decoy made out that it was their 15th birthday soon, and it was later discovered that Lewis had taken particular interest in this, marking the date down in his diary. He told her "it was a shame she would not be in Swansea as he would have bought her a birthday treat."

During the course of the conversation he also offered to "teach her how to kiss properly" and told her it would be done respectfully. He also told her he wanted to hold her and cuddle her. He also told her that she should keep quiet about talking to him until she was 16.

Things began to escalate when the decoy made out she planned to visit her grandmother in Cardiff. Lewis began calling her his "beautiful sexy girlfriend babe" and pushed for them to meet up, offering to pick her up from Cardiff, but she said she would get on the train as she needed to get back to her gran's house. He also offered to buy her swimwear.

They arranged a meet on Saturday, May 22, and Lewis had sent the decoy a picture of himself so she would recognise him. But when he arrived, he was instead met by the paedophile hunter group along High Street as he made his way towards the train station. He was subsequently arrested by police who had also been notified over the plans for the meet-up. Lewis told officers: "I knew you would need to speak to me."

His home was searched and they found the diary with the decoy's 15th birthday marked down on it, and they also found an internet browser search for GHB, commonly referred to as a date-rape drug. He provided a no comment interview at the police station and was charged.

Lewis, of Somerset Place, Maritime Quarter, Swansea, appeared at Swansea Crown Court for sentencing having admitted charges of being an adult meeting a girl under the age of 16 following grooming and attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child, a separate offence relating to another decoy which was run by a different paedophile hunter group called Fleetwood Enforcers.

Mitigating, his barrister Andrew Evans said: "This defendant has been living a solitary lifestyle for a number of years and had been abusing alcohol for a number of years. It is no excuse for him behaving in this way."

Judge Huw Rees sentenced Lewis to 12 months in prison.

Description

A man subjected a vulnerable young girl to a campaign of rape and sexual assaults lasting years.

The abuse started when the victim was aged just four or five, and continued until she was in her teens.

A judge labelled Andre Simpson a "very twisted individual" who had shown no remorse for what he had done, and also had put the girl through the ordeal of a trial.

The 54-year-old defendant subjected the girl a repeated rapes and assaults. Some of the offending happened more than 20 years but the abuse was not reported to the police at the time.

Simpson denied the offending but was convicted at trial at Swansea Crown Court.

In an impact statement which was read to court by prosecution barrister Robin Rouch, the victim said she effectively did not have a childhood because of what Simpson did to her, and the abuse left her struggling to trust people and being wary of older men. She said she still suffers from flashbacks and nightmares.

And she described the abuse as "the skeleton in the closet" that she had felt unable to report for so many years, adding that she hoped that by coming forward now and making a complaint to the police she had saved other children from suffering the same fate at the hands of the defendant.

As a victim of sexual offences, the woman has life-long legal anonymity.

Simpson, of Bronwydd, Birchgrove, Swansea, had previously been convicted of 18 counts of rape, indecent assault, sexual assault, indecency with a child, and possessing indecent images of a child when he appeared in the dock for sentencing.

Judge Paul Thomas QC said Simpson had carried out a "campaign" of sexual abuse against his victim, and he told the defendant he was a "very twisted individual" who "satisfied your sexual lust at her expense" without giving any consideration to the emotional and physical harm he was causing.

The judge said the defendant would not, of course, be additionally punished for taking the matter to trial but he called the way he ran his defence - instructing his barrister to repeatedly accuse his young victim of being a cynical liar - "particularly distasteful". The judge also noted that during the trial Simpson called into the question the ability and fairness of the police officer who had investigated the case, and sought to blame his sons for the presence of the indecent images found on his laptop, adding it seemed he was prepared to blame anyone in order to try to save his own skin.

Simpson was sentenced to a total of 21 years in prison, with an extended one year licence period. The defendant will serve two-thirds of that period before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community. Simpson will be a registered sex offender for the rest of his life, and was made the subject of an indefinite sexual harm prevention order.

Description

A serial paedophile with a history of online sexual offending was caught with a secret tablet computer in his room, a court has heard.

Another resident at the hostel where Aithan Jones was living had sold him the device, which he had not told the police about.

The 25-year-old has a history of trying to sexually groom children online and of breaching court orders designed to try to manage his behaviour.

A judge at Swansea Crown Court told the defendant that if he continued offending he was likely to be classified as a dangerous offender and would face significantly longer sentences.

Hannah George, prosecuting, said in 2020 Jones was found to be breaching a sexual harm prevention order by using a number of Facebook profiles to contact a young boy and by attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity. He was sentenced to 22 months in prison at Cardiff Crown Court and upon his release was sent to live in an approved hostel in Swansea.

The court heard that on June 7 this year a search was made of Jones' room which uncovered a tablet device he had not informed the police about. The court heard that another resident at the hostel had sold it to him for 60 though was yet to receive payment for it. The tablet had a sim card in it and was internet-enabled.

Aithan Philip Jones, of The Strand, Swansea, admitted breaching a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO. He has four previous convictions for 10 offences five of which are sexual offences.

Judge Geraint Walters said only a sentence of immediate custody was appropriate. He said in his view the last sentence Jones had been given was too lenient and in his view should have been twice the length. He warned the defendant that if he continued offending the time would come when he would be classified as a dangerous offender.

Giving the defendant the required one-third discount for his guilty plea the judge sentenced him to 12 months in prison for breaching the SHPO. Jones would ordinarily serve up to half that period in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community however the court heard he has been recalled to prison to serve the remainder of the 22-month sentence imposed in 2020 and is not not be released from that term until May 2022. The judge said he did not have the power to make the new sentence run consecutively with the existing term of imprisonment, meaning the new sentence will not prolong Jones' period behind bars.

Description

An online sex offender was caught with a smartphone and software designed to hide his internet history, a court has heard.

Craig Lloyd was handed a suspended prison sentence in 2019 for attempting to incite what he thought was a 12-year-old to engage in sexual activity. As part of his sentence he was made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order to control his access to the internet including a requirement he must declare any phones he owed to the police.

Hannah George, prosecuting, told Swansea Crown Court that in May this year police officers monitoring the defendant in the community made an unannounced visit to his home. The officers quizzed him about any electronic devices he had and he admitted he had a Samsung phone which he had bought the previous year and which he had not notified them about. Police carried out a search and also recovered a USB memory stick.

Lloyd was arrested and cautioned and told officers "there might be some stuff" on the phone as he had been involved in online chats. An examination of the Samsung found it had software which deleted the internet search history and it also had pictures of children albeit images of fully clothed youngsters and not indecent images.

In his interview the 37-year-old admitted buying the phone from eBay the previous October and not declaring it and said he used it look at pornography.

Craig Anthony Lloyd, of Neath Road, Hafod, Swansea, had previously pleaded guilty to breaching a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) when he appeared in the dock via videolink from prison for sentencing. In 2019 he was sentenced to 12 months in prison suspended for 24 months for attempted sexual communication with a child and attempting to incite a girl under 13 to engage in sexual activity. This case involved decoy social media accounts rather than real girls.

Matt Murphy, for Lloyd, said the offence was one "born out of temptation" but that Lloyd hadn't been using the phone "to engage in communications with people he should not". The advocate said the defendant had been working with probation while on the suspended sentence but "further intervention" was required.

Judge Geraint Walters told Lloyd he had been fortunate to avoid immediate prison in 2019 and had he been sentenced under the current Court of Appeal authority he would not have received a suspended sentence, which he said was the defendant's "lucky break".

However having been given a chance the judge said the defendant went on to commit a "wilful and flagrant" breach of the sexual harm prevention order, which showed "a measure of deviousness" on Lloyd's part. He said it was clear the defendant had learned nothing.

Giving Lloyd the required one-third discount for his guilty plea the judge sentenced him to 12 months in prison for the breach and he activated eight months of the previously-imposed suspended sentence to run consecutively making an overall sentence of 20 months in prison. Lloyd will serve up to half that period in custody before being released on licence.

The sexual harm prevention order remains in place.

Description

A man who sexually assaulted 18 women and girls in Swansea parks has been sentenced to three years in prison.

Oliver Smith, 27, rode around a popular Swansea park and nearby street on his bicycle wearing black or dark clothing with a hood pulled over his head causing "widespread terror", randomly touching women and girls.

Swansea Crown Court heard that he told police "he gets angry about females wearing Lycra". His 18 victims ranged in age from 12 to 45, and included lone joggers, university students, and mothers playing with their young children. A judge said he had no doubt the defendant was a dangerous offender, but said he was not able to make him subject to an extended sentence for public protection.

Swansea Crown Court heard most of the attacks took place around Swansea's Singleton and Brynmill parks, and nearby streets as well as the seafront prom.

Dean Pulling, prosecuting, said over the course of February 12 and 13 this year Smith attacked a series of women. He said Smith approached women from behind and "forcefully" grabbed their buttocks before riding off.

He said some of the victims were students heading for the nearby university, some were lone joggers, some were mothers who had taken their children to the park, and some were women out walking with friends enjoying some exercise in lockdown.

He said: "The offences were committed during lockdown and when the victims were taking permitted exercise or essential business, such as going to work or the shop.

"The fact they were assaulted at that time when there were heightened concerns regarding coronavirus and social distancing only served to increase the stress and fear that they felt at the time.

"The attacks that weekend received significant media publicity and these sexual assaults committed in public places, seemingly random attacks against women and girls, brought widespread fear and anger amongst females in Swansea."

He added: "He told police he gets angry about females wearing Lycra. He claimed he targeted females who had short jackets on and whose bottoms were visible. In his view it wasn't fair that men had to see that.

"He said he felt bad seeing some of his victims crying and felt that all females dressed to entice men."

Mr Pulling said one victim, a jogger, was assaulted twice within a short time - Smith first grabbed her bottom as she ran through Brynmill Park, and then again a few minutes later as she ran home through Singleton Park.

The court heard the defendant also sexually assaulted girls - one aged just 12 - in Bishopston on February 13, and tried to attack a 45-year-old woman walking home from the Bishopston Co-op store.

Police launched an investigation into the assaults, and on February 13 put out a press release to the media which included a CCTV image of a man on a bicycle they wanted to trace. A number of members of the public came forward with information, and these leads led police to an address on Sandy Lane in Parkmill on Gower, and to a converted garden shed where the defendant was living.

Mr Pulling said Smith initially denied carrying out the assault but later made admissions. He told officers he though it was "not fair" for women to "dress to entice men".

He added he masturbated every day, something which he says he found "exhausting", and that if he touched women he found he no longer needed to do that.

The court heard he also told police he had carried out other sexual assaults.

The court heard the attacks had left the victims feeling anxious, shocked, scared to go out, and "violated".

Oliver James Smith, of Glandrydan Avenue, Uplands, Swansea, had previously pleaded guilty to 11 counts of sexual sexual assault by touching - including one on a girl under 13 - and one count of attempted sexual assault. He asked for another seven sexual assaults to be taken into consideration. In total there were 18 victims.

Gerard Cullen, for Smith, said it was apparent from a number of conferences he had held with his client that the defendant demonstrated "very bizarre ideology and thinking". He said Smith "suffers from very rigid thinking, very off ideas about how females should dress in public".

The advocate said the defendant's mother had been concerned about her son's mental health and his interest in conspiracy theories for a considerable length of time, and had encouraged him to get help - but Smith had refused to co-operate.

Judge Geraint Walters said Smith had carried out what could only be described as a "campaign" of sexual offending.

"It really has to be described as a campaign of sexual offending, which caused widespread terror at the time to women in and around the Swansea area," he said.

He said he agreed with a pre-sentence report that Smith was a dangerous offender but the nature of the sentence he was able to impose did not allow him to pass an extended sentence.

Giving the defendant a one-third discount for his guilty pleas the judge sentenced the defendant to three years in prison for each offence, the sentences to all run concurrently making an overall sentence of three years. Smith will serve up to half that period in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community. He will be a registered sex offender for the rest of his life.

Speaking after sentence South Wales Police detective inspector Gareth Jones said: "Oliver Smith's offending has caused his victims significant fear and distress, and I hope this sentencing brings them some comfort and shoes the seriousness of his actions.

"Everyone has the right to go about their life without being harassed or assaulted.

"I praise these women and teenagers for coming forward and speaking to police. South Wales Police will not tolerate sexual abuse in any form, and we will do all we can do to bring perpetrators to justice."

Description

A former teaching assistant downloaded and saved thousands of images of child sex abuse, a court has heard.

Police found more than 5,000 indecent pictures and films on Iestyn Thomas' laptops and mobile phone, and in an online storage account he had.

Officers also found he had visited a Russian website which hosted such material some 38,000 times.

Swansea Crown Court heard the 51-year-old had used a laptop which was shared by other members of his family for some of his activities - potentially dragging wholly innocent people into the police investigaiton.

Ieuan Rees, prosecuting, said the offending came to light when police executed a search warrant at Thomas' house in Bonymaen, Swansea, early on the morning of March 4 last year.

He said officers seized the defendant's Huawei mobile phone, and Acer and HP laptops.

An examination of the devices and of a linked DropBox online account revealed a total of 5,300 pictures and films showing the sexual abuse of children. Some 774 of these were so-called Category A images, the most explicit kind. The examination also found 24 prohibited images of children, and 34 pictures and movies featuring animals classed as extreme pornography.

Mr Rees said the creation dates on the files reached back to at least 2015.

The court heard investigators also found Thomas had used internet search terms linked to child pornography, and had visited a Russian website which hosted images of child sex abuse around 38,000 times.

The prosecutor said it appeared from profiles on one of the laptops involved that it was a shared machine used by at least two other people in the family.

Thomas, of Cardigan Crescent, Bonymaen, Swansea, had previously pleaded guilty to three counts of making - downloading - indecent images of Category A, B, and C, and to possessing prohibited images and extreme pornographic images when he appeared in the dock for sentencing.

He has no previous convictions.

Andrew Evans, for Thomas, said while not an excuse for the offending, the defendant had been suffering from anxiety and stress for some time and had become, in effect, "addicted" to pornography and to indecent images.

He said letters from family members and friends submitted to the court spoke highly of his client, and said there had never been any cause for concern about his behaviour during the course of his work with vulnerable people.

The advocate said Thomas had sought help from the Lucy Faithful Foundation - an organisation which seeks to tackle sex offending - and referred himself to counselling.

Description

A paedophile groomed a vulnerable young boy and subjected him to rapes and repeated sexual assaults.

Jason Evans would ply the child with gifts including sweets, toys, and rugby boots, Swansea Crown Court heard.

Evans subjected the boy, who was under 12 at the time, to repeated sexual assaults and rapes with the offences taking place in the 2000s.

The child did not feel able to report the abuse at the time and it is only in recent years now he himself is a father that he went to the police.

Prosecutor John Hipkin QC read a statement from the victim in which he described the impact the abuse has had on him.

He said the sexual assaults made him an aggressive boy who got into trouble at school and he eventually left education with no qualifications. He said he went on to abuse drink and drugs, was not able to control his emotions, and ended up in trouble with the police.

The man said he still suffers flashbacks to the abuse, has regular suicidal thoughts, and has found it hard to hold down jobs but he said his family have helped him through the "dark times".

He added: "I hope Jason Evans being found guilty will be the start of my recovery but my life will never the same, it will always live with me... I hope it will be the first step in me getting on with my life."

Evans, aged 45, of Morfydd Street, Morriston, Swansea, was found guilty of three counts of sexual assault and two of rape following a trial.

Stephen Rees, for Evans, said the defendant maintained his innocence but the court would no doubt be trying to fathom why he had offended in the way he had during the period in question offending he had not carried out before or since.

He said his client had led an industrious life and since the offending had gone on to form a stable relationship and become a father.

Recorder Mark Powell QC told Evans he had taken advantage of his vulnerable victim to satisfy his "perverted desires" to have sex with a young boy.

He said the defendant had "destroyed" the boy's formative years and "took away his youth" and the impact the abuse had had was clear not just from the statement read to court but from the victim himself as he stood in the dock in a distressed state giving evidence during the trial.

The recorder said it was right Evans should be considered an offender of particular concern and be given an extended sentence as a result.

Evans was given a 13-year extended sentence comprising 12 years in custody and an extended one-year licence period. The defendant can apply for release at the two-thirds point of the custodial element but it will be for the Parole Board to decide if he is safe to be released. The defendant was made the subject of an indefinite sexual harm prevention order to control his access to children and will be on the sex offenders register for the rest of his life.

Speaking after the sentencing South Wales Police detective inspector Carl Price said: "Reporting rape or a serious sexual offence is big decision to make but victims welfare is our priority. Don't forget both men and women can be offenders and victims of sexual assault.

"South Wales Police is committed to investigating such offences in order to help victims move their lives forward and bring offenders to justice.

"If you or someone you know has been raped or sexually assaulted we encourage you to report it to us so you can get the support you need."

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A paedophile has been caught for a third time with indecent images, a court has heard.

When police searched his house they also found a "doll-sized sex doll" which the defendant said he used while watching pornography.

David Richard Mansel William Lee Smith was handed a suspended sentence on his last court appearance but sending him down for his new offending a judge said there was "no prospect" of rehabilitation in his case.

Swansea Crown Court heard police went to Smith's home in Port Talbot in October last year home following information received from a so-called paedophile hunter group.

Dean Pulling, prosecuting, said the defendant was arrested on allegations of child grooming and was told to hand over his internet-enabled devices. He gave officers a phone, laptop, and PlayStation games console.

A subsequent search of the property showed the 26-year-old was using a bedroom for the production of cannabis and had installed a growing tent, a drying tent, lamps, filters, and a hydroponic feeding system. Five living plants and another three which had been harvested were recovered. The barrister characterised it as a "relatively small" set-up but one which showed "a degree of knowledge".

The court heard the police also found a "doll-sized sex doll" at the property.

Mr Pulling said the following day an officer returned to the defendant's home to dismantle the cannabis tents and equipment and while he was in the bedroom heard a phone ringing. Following the ringtone he went to the window in the room and found another phone, which Smith had not disclosed, had been put on the far end of the external window sill.

An examination of the phone showed two films of child abuse hidden in a folder. One, more than six minutes long, showed a toddler aged between two and four being raped.

In his subsequent interview Smith said he had learned how to grow cannabis by watching videos online and had spent around 1,000 on the equipment and another 60 on seeds. He said he used the crop to make cannabis cakes which he used to treat his "low mood" and his "lack of focus". The defendant told officers he used the sex doll while watching online pornography.

Smith, of Vivian Park Drive, Sandfields, Port Talbot, had previously pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing an indecent image and one count of producing cannabis when he appeared in the dock for sentencing.

The court heard that in 2017 he was sentenced to 15 months in prison suspended for two years and ordered to complete a rehabilitation course after police twice found indecent images on his phone once in 2016 and then again in 2017 while being investigated for the first matter. Officers also found he had taken part in Skype video chats with other people where they had discussed the sexual abuse of children.

Robert Chudleigh, for Smith, said the defendant accepted a custodial sentence was inevitable and said the mitigation he was putting before the court would go only to length. He said the defendant had ongoing issues with anxiety and depression and "does not do much socially" but wants to rehabilitate himself and to "better himself".

Judge Paul Thomas QC said it was concerning that Smith had now been found in possession of indecent material on three separate occasions. He said that given the defendant's offending history he had come to conclusion that there was "no prospect of rehabilitation" in his case and that a sentence of immediate custody was necessary.

Giving the defendant credit for his guilty pleas a quarter for the indecent images charges and a third for the cannabis charge the judge sentenced him to a total of nine months in prison. Smith will serve up to half that period in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community.

The defendant will be on the sex offenders register for the next 10 years and was made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order to control his access to the internet for the same length of time.

Sending the defendant down, Judge Thomas warned him: "If you come back before a court again for a similar kind of offending you will be going to prison for a very long time. Do you understand?"

The court heard that though Smith was charged with a grooming offence following the involvement of the paedophile hunter group in October last year the matter was later discontinued.

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Sex offender who is banned from all multi-storey car parks jailed for breaching court order A sex offender who is banned from going into any multi-storey car park has been jailed after being seen entering one with a can of petrol, a court has heard. Jonathan Michael Jones has a lifelong ban from entering any covered car park after sexually assaulting a 12-year-old boy who was waiting for his mum in one. When a witness who knew the defendant saw him walking into a Swansea city centre multi-storey he called the police saying he thought Jones was going to sniff the petrol he was carrying in a container. Swansea Crown Court heard that in 2005 Jones was jailed for 42 months and made the subject of an indefinite sexual offences protection order after he abused a young boy. Helen Randall, prosecuting, said on that occasion the defendant had approached a 12-year-old boy who was waiting for his mother in a multi-storey car park and pushed him into a lift where he put his hands down the youngster's trousers and kissed him. As well as being sent to prison Jones was made the subject of a sexual offences protection order with a number of conditions including one prohibiting him entering any covered car park and one banning him from seeking contact with or associating with males under the age of 18. The court heard Jones came to the attention of police in May 2019 following allegations he had sexually assaulted a teenager. No action was ultimately taken but Jones admitted he had been in the company of a 17-year-old boy and a number of other men at his home address on the day in question and they had all been drinking alcohol and smoking cannabis. The 36-year-old came to the attention of police in Swansea again on November 24 of the same year when a man who knew him saw him entering the multi-storey car park that links The Strand and High Street railway station while carrying a can of petrol. The witness believing Jones had gone to sniff the petrol called 999. When arrested Jones told officers he used the car park as a shortcut to get to his nephew's house. Jones, of Woodford Road, Blaenymaes, Swansea, admitted two counts of breaching a sexual offences protection order. The court heard he has 14 previous convictions for 26 offences including the sexual assault on the 12-year-old boy. David Singh, for Jones, said the defendant claimed he was taking the can of petrol to his brother whose car had run out of fuel. He added that his client had been diagnosed with mild learning difficulties. Judge Paul Thomas QC described the breaches of the order as "flagrant" and said Jones had done things he knew he was not allowed to do. Giving the defendant credit for his guilty pleas the judge sentenced him to a total of 12 months in prison comprising 10 months for the contact with the teenager and two months for entering the car park. The defendant will serve up to half that period in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community.

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A paedophile is back behind bars for sexually abusing young girls just months after being released from his previous sentence.

Graham Harry John Rogers' new victim came forward after reading about him in the papers - and during the course of their investigation police also found a second new victim.

Swansea Crown Court heard the first new victim had reported the assault to the authorities at the time of the abuse - more than 20 years ago - but the Crown Prosecution Service had decided not to charge Rogers because of a lack of corroborating evidence, something that "perhaps reflects the approach at the time".

Sending him down, a judge told the 66-year-old defendant he had "selfish, degenerate and deviant sexual needs", and only a sentence of immediate custody was appropriate.

Jim Davis, prosecuting, said in May 2018 Rogers was sentenced to four years sexually assaulting a young girl, and taking pictures of the abuse on his phone.

After reading about the defendant in the press, a woman abused by the defendant when she was a teenager went to police and asked them to look again at what had happened to her.

The court heard Rogers had touched the then-girl's genitals over her clothing, and "gouged" her with his thumb leaving her privates bruised and cut.

In the course of re-investigating that complaint, officers found another girl he had also abused - this offence had seen Rogers touching the breasts of a girl aged six or seven.

Mr Davis said the first victim had reported the incident to her mother and then to the police, but the prosecuting authorities decided there was no realistic prospect of conviction without corroborating evidence, something that "perhaps reflects the approach at the time".

In their impact statements which were read to court, the victims described how the abuse they had suffered had robbed them of their childhoods and blighted their whole lives, leaving them withdrawn, troubled, and distrustful of men.

Rogers, of Tirgof, Llangennech,  Llanelli, had previously pleaded guilty to two counts of indecent assault of a child when he appeared in the dock for sentencing.

Stephen Rees, for Rogers, said his client knew what life in prison was like having recently served a substantial sentence imposed in 2018, and had come to court with his bags packed in readiness for a return.

But the barrister asked the judge to consider taking the "exceptional step" of imposing a more "constructive" sentence which would allow the defendant to complete a sex offenders course in the community, adding that Rogers "recognises he has a problem that needs to be treated".

Judge Huw Rees said it was clear Rogers had an "enduring sexual interest in children", and had "selfish, degenerate and deviate sexual needs". He said the defendant had "slyly" taken his opportunities to abuse the girls, actions which display the hallmarks of a paedophile.

The judge said he had listened carefully to submissions made on the defendant's behalf but the offending was so serious only immediate custody was appropriate.

Giving Rogers credit for his guilty pleas he sentenced him to a total of five-and-a-half years in prison. The defendant will serve up to half of that period in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community.

Rogers will be on the sex offenders register for the rest of his life.