Latest Offenders Cwmbran

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A man tried to kill himself several times after he admitted sexually assaulting a girl over the age of 16, a court heard. When confronted with the allegations he said: "I'll be dead within the hour".

Gareth Mitchell's offending came to light when his victim confided to a counsellor about the attack and the police were informed. A sentencing hearing at Cardiff Crown Court heard the 41-year-old defendant, from Cwmbran, was challenged about those allegations and replied: "I did it." He added: "I will be dead within the hour."

Prosecutor Alex Greenwood said police located Mitchell in a car as he was attempting to take his own life. He was taken to a custody suite where he made a further attempt on his own life. He was taken to hospital and after he was released the following day the defendant was interviewed. He provided a prepared statement in which he admitted the offences, apologised for his actions, and said: "It will never happen again".

Mitchell later pleaded guilty to sexual offences including assault by penetration. The court heard he was of previous good character.

In a victim personal statement read to the court by Mr Greenwood the victim said: "I have been suffering as a result of what he did to me... As a result of his actions against me my mental health has got a lot worse. I have been self-harming every week at least once a week. I was bullied at school and self-harmed from an early age. Prior to this incident I had a degree of stability in my mental health – I was in a much better place and had a good circle of friends...

"I restarted self-harming. I am also looking around everywhere to make sure the defendant is not around or anyone who could possibly hurt me. I am incredibly anxious, scared to leave the house, and prefer somebody to be with me... I'll never forget what's taken place. I want to get my life back on track and be the best person I can be."

In mitigation Jeffrey Jones said his client made admissions upon first being confronted about the allegations and had tried to end his own life. He said this was indication of the remorse the defendant felt and described his life as "likely to be altered forever with natural hostility and isolation".

Sentencing, Recorder Greg Bull KC said: "This was not a long-lasting incident but one of profound effect [on the victim]." He sentenced Mitchell to three years imprisonment. The defendant was also made subject to a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) and sex offender notification requirements indefinitely.

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Kieran O’Connor, of Dorleigh Court, Cwmbran, breached a Sexual Harm Prevention Order given by Newport Crown Court on September 9, 2020, after sending messages to two teenage girls on Facebook.

Cardiff Crown Court heard the 21-year-old had been placed into a hotel as part of his prevention order.

However, the hotel had a smart TV enabling O’Connor to access Facebook and communicate with children.

Via Facebook O’Connor asked a 14-year-old to meet and do "dirty stuff". He also contacted a 15-year-old girl.

Judge Shomon Khan said: “You have been given chances before.

“Everyone has tried to work really hard for you, you are very determined to reoffend and are unmanageable in the community.”

The court also heard how O’Connor’s family had tried to ban O’Connor’s access to the internet and regularly changed their passwords.

O’Connor was jailed for 20 months for both offences to run concurrently, he was also ordered to pay a court surcharge of £156 three months after his release.

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A woman took her own life after she found a video of her partner raping her on his phone.

Tina Lewis, 24, was raped by Edward Weeks while she slept at his home in Cwmbran, Torfaen, in December.

Cardiff Crown Court heard Ms Lewis found footage of the attack on Weeks' phone the following day after he recorded the attack on motion-sensitive cameras set up in his bedroom.

Weeks, 33, was jailed for eight years after admitting rape.

Prosecutor Matthew Cobbe described Ms Lewis as "child-like" and dependent on Weeks during the course of their five-year on-off relationship.

Ms Lewis, who was autistic and described as "very vulnerable", stayed at Weeks' home just after Christmas, where he raped her after she fell asleep.

Weeks let Ms Lewis use his phone to play a game the next day when she found the video.

Mr Cobbe said it "was the processes that followed the complaint" that appeared to have had the most "extreme impact" on Ms Lewis.

"In the weeks that followed she agonised about the process itself but also about the effect it was going to have on the defendant," he added.

Ms Lewis' sister, Saffron, described the pain of losing her sister in "such upsetting circumstances".

'A very wicked act'

She said Weeks had become Ms Lewis' full-time carer and that she relied on him for many tasks.

"The effect on our family has been devastating. I have lost my best friend," she said.

"Tina was the greatest inspiration of my life."

Julia Cox, for Weeks, said: "This is a tragic case and nothing that I say in mitigation detracts from that."

She said Weeks was also autistic and described his relationship with Ms Lewis as "complex".

Weeks admitted rape and assault by penetration and judge Jeremy Jenkins told him he had committed "a very wicked act".

As well as his prison sentence, Weeks was placed on the sex offender register for life.

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A sick Staffordshire dad has been jailed after filming himself having sex with his pet dog. Dean Beer , 56, had started a 'sickening' conversation about bestiality on Facebook Messenger when he committed the vile act, a court had heard.

In the messages, he was encouraged to record himself sexually abusing the dog before sending it on. The disturbing footage was uncovered when the police went to his home after receiving information from the National Crime Agency about the uploading of an indecent image.

Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court heard the defendant had searched the term 'dog porn' six times. The court also heard his phone contained two inaccessible category C photos of young girls aged between 13 and 15 and extreme pornographic images of women having penetrative sexual activity with dogs and a horse. Now Beer, formerly of Stoke-on-Trent, has been jailed for nine months after he was described as having an 'unhealthy and depraved interest in bestiality'.

Prosecutor Maria Brannan said: "A Land Rover mobile phone was recovered. It contained two inaccessible category C images featuring girls aged between 13 and 15; three accessible extreme pornographic images and six still and two moving images of adult females having penetrative sexual activity with dogs and a horse.

"The search term 'dog porn' was used six times. The conversation was found on Facebook messenger between the defendant, 'Taffy Dean', and a person who has not been arrested.

"The conversation concerned sexual abuse of the defendant's dog. The other person encouraged the defendant to film himself performing a penetrative sex act on his dog. The defendant did the act and sent the film to the other person."

The prosecutor said police received information from the National Crime Agency and officers attended the defendant's home in Stoke on Trenton July 21, 2020. Beer, now of Wentloog Close, Cwmbran, Wales, pleaded guilty to possession of indecent images of children; possession of an extreme pornographic image; intercourse with an animal; and publishing an obscene article.

Andrew Molloy, mitigating, said the defendant, who has no previous convictions, has now lost his good character. Mr Molloy said: "He is quite embarrassed about his conduct. He says it is out of character for him to behave in this way.

"It is almost two years since and he has not been involved in any trouble. He has self-referred to a mental health institution and is engaging well."

He said the defendant no longer has the dog and urged Judge David Fletcher to suspend the sentence. But the judge said only an immediate jail sentence was appropriate, reports StokeonTrentLive.

Judge Fletcher said: "The exchanges on Facebook were some of the most sickening exchanges I have ever had to read about and deal with. You are someone who had an unhealthy and depraved interest in bestiality. Penetrating your own pet dog with your penis is as shocking as it is depraved."

Beer was made the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) and was placed on the sex offenders' register for the same period. The judge ordered the forfeiture and destruction of the phone.

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A 21-year-old man "cared only for his own selfish sexual desires" when he raped a teenager, a court has heard. Jack Roberts pinned his victim down as he attacked her, then told the terrified young woman not to report what had happened to family members or the police.

Roberts denied rape, telling his trial at Cardiff Crown Court that the sexual contact had been consensual. But a jury rejected that version of events, and convicted him. Roberts, of Hinter Path, Fairwater, Cwmbran, returned to the dock on Friday, May 6, to be sentenced.

In a statement from the victim which was read to the court she said the rape had left her suffering with terrible anxiety and depression, having trouble sleeping, and experiencing panic attacks. She said she no longer feels comfortable around males - for example on public transport - and has had to abandon her studies as a result of what happened.

Marian Lewis, for Roberts, said said the incident took place in March 2020 and that since then the defendant had matured and "is not the same person he was at the time". She said letters and character references submitted to the court on the defendant's behalf described him as a good and a kind young man who "led a pro-social lifestyle". The court heard Roberts has no previous convictions.

Recorder Bilal Siddique told the defendant he had "cared only for your own selfish sexual desires" when he raped his victim. He said in his view Roberts had shown little remorse for what he had done, and noted that in his pre-sentence report the defendant had maintained his innocence. He also described the defendant's behaviour after the rape as "manipulative".

Roberts was sentenced to six-and-a-half years detention in a young offenders' institution. He will be on the sex offenders register for the rest of his life. There were shouts of support and kisses blown from the public gallery as the defendant was taken down to the cells.