Locations
Cwmgelli Road, Swansea, Wales, SA6
Description
A convicted sex offender claimed to be a teacher and sent pictures of his penis to someone he thought was a 12-year-old girl, a court has heard. In fact Timothy Edwards was communicating with an undercover police officer.
Swansea Crown Court heard Edwards used a false name and a picture of a cat in his online profile - a picture which turned out to be a snap of the family cat which had been taken in the conservatory of the family home. The court also heard the defendant began sending sexual messages and images to the online cop just weeks after being handed a suspended prison sentence for possession of images of children being sexually abused.
Alycia Carpanini, prosecuting, said in May, 2024, Edwards was given a sentence of eight months in prison suspended for two years and was made subject to a 10-year sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) after being convicted of making indecent images of children. As part of the order the defendant must notify police about any internet-enabled devices he owns, and he is prohibited form having social media accounts or online profiles in any name other than Timothy Edwards or an alternative that has not been approved by his offender manager.
The court heard that in June this year Edwards initiated contact with a profile purporting to be that of a 12-year-old girl on the networking platform Kik. The defendant had the username ThomWayne500 and his profile picture was of a black cat. The defendant began chatting to the "girl" and said he was a teacher from Bristol and said he was glad it was the school summer holidays. When the girl asked him if he was a teacher at her school Edwards said no, and said he would remember teaching a "cute young lady" like her.
The court heard the defendant then began making "suggestive" comments to the decoy and asking for pictures, and told her if she sent him a rude photo he would send one back. The prosecutor said Edwards then sent the decoy pictures of his erect penis - one showing him having just ejaculated - and sent her a series of sexual messages during which he said he wished he was her teacher and said he would give her private sex education lessons. The decoy send Edwards a picture of a girl in a shirt and stripped school-type tie and the defendant responded by calling her beautiful and saying he wanted to unbutton her shirt. He asked her for a selfie which he could use as a background picture on his phone ,and asked her for pictures of her in her bra and for topless snaps. For the latest court reports, sign up to our crime newsletter here
The court heard that on the morning of August 15 police officers went to the defendant's home address in Swansea and arrested him. After being cautioned the defendant said: "There is a Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra in the house and my wife knows where it is". Officers located and seized the mobile and on it found an email account in the name of ThomWayne500 which contained emails from the Kik, Telegram and Instagram platforms. The court heard the black cat depicted in the Kik profile Edwards was using appeared to be a snap of the Edwards' family cat taken in the conservatory at his home address. The court also heard that details in the background of the penis pictures which the defendant sent to the decoy were consistent with them having been taken in his bedroom at the property. The Samsung phone itself had not previously been disclosed to the police.
Edward Timothy, aged 24, of Cwmgelli Road, Morriston, Swansea, had previously pleaded guilty to breaching a sexual harm prevention, attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child - the charge is one of attempt as no real child was involved - and sending a photograph or film of genitals to cause alarm, distress or humiliation when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. He has one previous conviction for three offences of making - that is possessing - indecent images of categories A, B and C.
With credit for his guilty pleas Edwards was sentenced to 15 months in prison for the new offences and recorder Greg Bull KC activated the previously imposed eight month sentence in full to run consecutively making an overall sentence of 23 months in prison. A new 10-year sexual harm prevention order was imposed - albeit it an order with same terms as the previous one - and the defendant will be a registered sex offender for the next 10 years.