Shaun Canavan 55

Description

A "highly dangerous paedophile" preyed on vulnerable young girls and subjected them to years of sickening sexual abuse, a court has heard.

Shaun Canavan assaulted his primary school-age victims on multiple occasions in a variety of locations including in a public swimming pool.

Cardiff Crown Court heard the 55-year-old's offending has had a devastating impact on his now victims, affecting all aspects of their lives. A judge told Canavan he had prioritised his own sexual urges over "any sense of humanity or decency". The defendant was handed an extended sentence as a dangerous offender which he will serve after the current extended sentence he is serving for the sexual abuse of another young girl.

Sarah Isles, prosecuting, said the offending before the court involved two young girls and was carried out over a period of five years. Canavan sexually assaulted his victims multiple times and in a variety of locations in Caerphilly County including in a public swimming pool, in the car park of a workingmen's club, in a shed, in his vehicle and at a building site during the construction of a housing estate.

In statements read to the court the victims described the devastating impact their childhood abuse has had on their lives. One said the defendant took away her innocence and her happiness and filled her life with "fear, shame and disgust". She said she has been left wondering what kind of woman she would be today if she had not encountered Canavan as a child and not been used by him for his own "monstrous sexual gratification". The second victim described how the abuse perpetrated by the defendant had "impacted every aspect of my life" and caused severe post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression, and led to alcohol and drug misuse and suicide attempts.

Shaun Canavan, formerly of Llandaff Road, Cardiff, had previously pleaded guilty to 34 counts of indecent assault of a child when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. Two of the counts are what is known as "specimen counts" and represent some 24 separate assaults carried out on one of the victims over the course of a year. The defendant has 40 previous convictions for 121 offences including matters of violence and sexual offending against a child. In 2016 the former nightclub bouncer and digger driver was given an extended 20-year sentence as a dangerous offender after being convicted at trial of sexually abusing a girl under 13. On that occasion he was also made the subject of an indefinite sexual harm prevention order designed to control his access to children, and was put on the sex offenders register for life. The offences currently before the court pre-date the offences for which the defendant was sentenced to 2016 but were only reported to police after his conviction.

Joshua Scouller, for Canavan, said the defendant's main mitigation was his entered guilty pleas at the very earliest opportunity. He said his client had reflected on his behaviour and was remorseful.

Judge Paul Hobson told Canavan the psychological impact of his offending has been "nothing short of devastating" for his victims and had impacted every aspect of their lives, and he described the defendant as "a serial sexual abuser of children". He said it was clear Canavan had been harbouring and acting upon "warped thinking" about young girls for many years, and he told him: "In my judgement you are, you remain, a highly dangerous paedophile."

The judge said in coming to his sentence he had to be mindful of the maximum sentences which applied to the offences at the time of their commission, to the fact the defendant was already serving a lengthy prison sentence for similar offending, and to the principle of totality. Canavan was made the subject of a 10-year extended sentence as a dangerous offender comprising seven years in custody followed by a three-year licence period. The new sentence will run consecutively with the 20-year extended sentence Canavan is currently serving, a sentence comprised of 15 years in custody followed by a five year licence period.

Defendants on extended sentences can apply for release after serving two-thirds of the custodial element of their sentence but it is for the Parole Board to determine if they are safe to be release and if so, on what conditions. The combined effect of the new and existing sentences means Canavan is effectively serving a 30-year extended sentence comprising 22 years in custody followed by eight years on licence. The defendant will be able to apply for release in late 2030 or early 2031 but may be required to serve the full term meaning he could be kept inside until 2038.

After passing sentence judge Hobson said the bravery of the victims in coming forward and reporting the abuse should be mentioned, and he said he was aware of the great cost to their wellbeing in doing so. He said he hoped the sentencing exercise would at least provide a sense of a chapter in their lives closing and a new chapter opening.

The judge said he was also duty bound to make a number of observations about the conduct of the case and its progress through the court system. He said the delay in the case coming to court was "inexcusable" and said the presentation of the prosecution case had been "shambolic". He said the case had been committed to crown court for sentencing after the defendant pleaded guilty at magistrates court and he said he was concerned at the "false economy" in terms of the resources the Crown Prosecution Service had put into preparing the committal.