Christopher Howells 59

Description

A Welshman filmed himself performing a sex act on a bus in sight of a young girl sitting nearby. The offending only came to light after former steelworker Christopher Howells lost his phone outside a rugby club and it was found by a passer-by.

When the Good Samaritan looked at the phone to see if he could find the owner's details he saw photographs which troubled him, and he immediately took the device to the police. Sending the 58-year-old to prison a judge told the defendant it was clear he had gained sexual gratification from his behaviour on the bus.

The judge said he had no doubt relived the experience while watching the footage over again. He also noted that Howells had been assessed as posing a high risk of harm to children.

Craig Jones, prosecuting, told Swansea Crown Court that on June 17 this year a man walking near Pyle rugby club noticed a mobile phone on the ground and stopped to pick it up. He said the man took the device home with the intention of seeing if he could identify its owner and return it.

But when he looked at the phone he saw pictures of a young girl on a bus - photographs which were taken from behind and which appeared to have been taken without the child's knowledge. The man immediately took the phone to Bridgend police station, and there officers carried out a full examination of the device.

On the phone police found a three-minute video clip showing a man performing the sex act on himself on a bus while sat across from a young girl. The court heard the child, who could see what was happening, has never been identified.

The prosecutor said police also found a photograph of the defendant's driving licence on the phone, and that led them to Howells' front door. The defendant was arrested and subsequently answered "no comment" to all questions asked in interview.

Christopher Howells, of Ffordd y Goedwig, Pyle, Bridgend , had previously pleaded guilty to engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. He had also originally been charged with outraging public decency - an offence contrary to common law - but the prosecution did not pursue that charge.

The defendant has previous convictions for assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and for failing to provide a specimen for analysis.. John Allchurch, for Howells, said the references before the court painted a picture of a decent and hard-working man.

He said his client had cared for his mother for many years and under the burden of those responsibilities had turned to drink. The advocate said at the time of the offending Howells had lost his job at the steelworks and was drinking a bottle of vodka a day.

Judge Paul Thomas KC said it was clear that Howells had derived sexual enjoyment from the what was happening on the bus. He said that enjoyment was no doubt repeated when the defendant subsequently watched back the footage he had shot.

The judge noted that the author of the pre-sentence report on the defendant had concluded that due to factors including the nature of the offending, Howells' attitude, and his mistrust of professionals, he posed a high risk of harm to children. Judge Thomas jailed Howells for 15 months.

The defendant will serve up to half that sentence in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community. Howells will be a registered sex offender for the next ten years, and was made the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for the same period of time.