Locations
Heol Heddwch, Seven Sisters, Neath, Wales, SA10
Description
A delivery driver arranged to meet a schoolboy and go back to his house while he was in the course of making drop-offs in the company van, a court has heard. When father-of-two Tyrone Felton arrived at the rendezvous he was was met not by a child but by plain clothes police officers, and an examination of the van revealed its internal CCTV cameras had been covered up.
Sending the 54-year-old to prison a judge at Swansea Crown Court told him the sooner he came to terms with the fact he had "paedophile tendencies" the better it would be for him and for society. He said he sincerely hoped the defendant would take advantage of sex offender education programmes that were available behind bars.
Dean Pulling, prosecuting, said in February this year a decoy profile purporting to belong to a 14-year-old boy was deployed on social media as part of an operation by Tarian, the southern Wales organised crime unit, to identify potential online sex offenders. He said Felton - who was going by the online name Dave1 - made contact with the profile and they began chatting. The court heard the decoy talked about school and made it clear he was aged 14, and Felton said that was fine. During the conversation Felton asked the boy about his underwear and asked if he could "accommodate" if they were to meet.
The court heard Felton told the decoy he was a delivery driver and was currently in Cowbridge heading west to Haverfordwest, and plans were made to meet "at a public place" in Carmarthen so the defendant could pick up the boy and go to the teen's house. At lunchtime Felton arrived at the rendezvous in his van to be met by undercover police officers who had been sent to the location. The court heard that when the defendant's van was searched officers found the internal CCTV cameras in the vehicle had been obscured by a fleece jacket and caps. The defendant was taken to Dafen police station and subsequently answered "no comment" to all questions asked in interview. Mr Pulling said as the Tarian operation was ongoing the name being used by the decoy profile, the social media platforms it was operating on, and the location of the meeting point in Carmarthen would no be revealed in open court.
Tyrone Felton, of Heol Heddwch, Seven Sisters, Dulais Valley, Neath, had previously pleaded guilty to attempting to meet a child following sexual grooming, attempted sexual communications with a child, and arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sexual offence when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. He has a conviction from 1991 for gross indecency with a child and attempted kidnapping of a child, an incident which saw him exposing his penis to young children and inciting them to touch it.
Harry Dickens, for Felton, said the defendant had gone online to meet and talk to men but his use of the apps "spiralled", and he said the father-of-two could not explain what had precipitated offending that was before the court. He said the defendant "wished he had never done it" and was "deeply sorry".
Judge Paul Thomas KC said the defendant's antecedent record showed that he had had "paedophile tendencies" for a considerable period of time and it may be that sometimes they were "latent" and others "active". He said it was clear from the contents of the pre-sentence report that Felton was in denial, and he told the defendant that the sooner he came to terms with that fact he had a problem the better it would be for him and for society. He noted Felton was not particularly remorseful for his actions but was remorseful for the impact on his family.
With a one-third discount for his guilty pleas Felton was sentenced to two years in prison - he will serve up to half that period in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community. He was made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order for the next five years, and will be a registered sex offender for the same length of time. Judge Thomas told Felton he sincerely hoped he would take advantage of sex offender education programmes that were available in custody.