Locations
Barry Road, Barry, Vale Of Glamorgan, The, CF62
Description
A couple said to be like 'Fred and Rose West' have been found guilty of raping and indecently assaulting three young children.
Peter Griffiths was accused of using his "suggestible" wife Avril, who has a very low IQ, as bait to groom the children with alcohol and cigarettes.
During their trial, Cardiff Crown Court was told the pair "repeatedly sexually abused three young girls" between the 1970s and 1990s.
Jurors heard Peter and Avril Griffiths both raped the three girls.
One of the victims described them as being like "Fred and Rose West", the notorious English serial killers.
She told the court: "I think if you ask most families in Barry, they'd hate them."
A jury at Cardiff Crown Court took less than four hours to return unanimous verdicts finding them guilty of rape, indecent assault and taking indecent photos of a child.
Judge Jeremy Jenkins QC said: "You can both expect a considerable sentence for the offences of which you have been found guilty.
"If I am satisfied either of you is a dangerous offender, an extended sentence or even a life sentence would be appropriate."
Prosecutor Caroline Rees QC told the court the couple took one of the girls "dogging" and would "have sex with her in the back of a van while others looked on".
The court also heard one of the girls was taken on a boat in the Bristol channel where she was raped by Peter Griffiths and that Avril Griffiths also allegedly sexually assaulted the girl on the boat.
The girl later told police she had been "ripped apart physically" after suffering injuries.
The pair denied all the charges.
When he gave evidence in his own defence during the trial Peter Griffiths denied rape and sexual assault but admitted sleeping with one of the girls.
He told the court there was a foursome involving himself, his wife, the complainant and another man.
Asked why the foursome took place, he replied: Tomfoolery. Messing about. One thing led to another.
He thought she was 17 or 18 and when asked if she could have been closer to 10 he responded: "No way."
David Etherington QC asked his client if he ever took the complainant "dogging" in a van and he said that "never" happened.
One complainant alleged she was sexually abused several times on a boat but Peter Griffiths told the court he had a good memory of everything that happened on the boat because that was how he earned his living.
He said his first boat was called Unity and he used to take customers on fishing trips, charging 8 per person.
The court heard he sometimes took police officers on fishing trips, which were arranged through the South Wales Police social club.
He said he provided tea and coffee, not alcohol, and could provide equipment like fishing rods if required.
Addressing the allegation there were "sex parties" on the boat, his barrister Mr Etherington said: Im going to ask you a blunt question. Did you ever provide anything other than fishing rods and drinks, such as girls?
The defendant replied: Never".
Avril Griffiths, 61, did not give evidence in her defence. But a psychological report was presented to Cardiff Crown Court by a consultant clinical and forensic psychologist.
It stated her IQ was "extremely low". In 1972, she was assessed when she was 15 years old and was found to be someone who failed to understand "what was really being said to her" and was "terribly suggestible".
The 1972 assessment "still stands", the court was told.
Peter Griffiths, 65, from Barry Road in Barry, denied eight counts of rape, three counts of indecent assault, and three counts of taking indecent photographs of a child.
He was found guilty on all counts except one charge of taking indecent photographs, which was dropped.
Avril Griffiths, 61, from the same address, denied five counts of rape, two counts of indecent assault, and three counts of taking indecent photographs of a child.
She was also found guilty on all counts except one charge of taking indecent photographs, which was dropped.
The jury took less than four hours to return unanimous verdicts.
They will be sentenced on October 18 and were remanded in custody.
Judge Jeremy Jenkins QC told the couple: You can both expect a considerable sentence for the offences of which you have been found guilty.
If I am satisfied either of you is a dangerous offender, an extended sentence or even a life sentence would be appropriate.