POLICE are appealing for witnesses after a parked vehicle was damaged in Fishguard.

Officers say the incident happened sometime between the late hours of Sunday (Jan 4) and the early hours of Monday (Jan 5) in the area between Ffwrn and Pizza Point.

A blue Skoda Karoq was parked there when its front windscreen was damaged.

Anyone with information, or private CCTV such as doorbell footage, or dashcam recordings showing suspicious activity, is asked to contact Dyfed-Powys Police by emailing [email protected], calling 101, or sending a direct message on social media.

The reference is DP-20260107-035.

Alternatively, Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously on 0800 555 111 or via its website.

Judge says injuries were “catastrophic” and warns offender will remain a danger to children for the rest of his life

A MAN has been jailed for life after being convicted of a series of violent and sexual offences against a baby aged no more than ten weeks, in what the judge described as the most distressing case he had encountered in more than 40 years in the Crown Courts.

Christopher Phillips was sentenced at Swansea Crown Court today (Friday, January 16) after a contested trial in which he denied the allegations before being convicted by a jury.

Passing sentence, the judge said the baby’s injuries were so severe that, if the anal tear had not been caused by penetration, it would have been comparable to a child being “hit by a bus.” The court heard the baby required morphine on two occasions, something a highly experienced paediatrician said she had only administered to a baby fewer than six times in her career.

The judge told Phillips: “That utterly defenceless baby had his bottom ripped open to satisfy your grotesque sexual perversion.”

Phillips was sentenced to life imprisonment on two counts of assault by penetration of a child under 13, relating to injuries described in evidence as a healed injury and a later, catastrophic injury.

The court also heard Phillips had caused multiple fractured ribs and bleeding on the baby’s brain, and had inflicted bruising to the child’s testicle.

The judge said the expert medical evidence showed the rib injuries were of a severity not usually seen even when CPR had been performed, and that even chest compressions — which compress the chest by around 30 per cent — would not normally cause injuries of the scale found in the baby.

‘Actively looking for a baby’

In a detailed sentencing statement, the judge said he had reached a series of conclusions about the offending and Phillips’ behaviour.

He told the court he believed Phillips was “actively looking for a baby” to sexually abuse and penetrate, and that he had used the dating app Tinder with that aim.

The judge said Phillips chose the baby’s mother because her profile photograph showed her with a baby who was around a month old, and that he quickly recognised her vulnerability and “cynically exploited it.”

The court heard Phillips was critical and disparaging towards the child’s mother, with the judge stating he was not attracted to her and was motivated instead by access to the baby.

The judge said Phillips “did your best to gain unfettered access” to the child and had pestered and cajoled the mother to leave the baby alone with him.

He told Phillips that had the mother left the baby alone with him as he had urged, “it is impossible to imagine what worse injury you could have inflicted.”

‘Plan B is as unconvincing as Plan A’

The court heard that Phillips made no admissions in interview and sought to blame others, with the baby’s father arrested at the outset of the investigation.

The judge said Phillips had pointed the finger of blame at the father, the mother stood trial alongside him, and that Phillips tried to blame them during the proceedings “to save your own skin.”

The judge said Phillips’ admission of responsibility came only after a three-week trial and guilty verdicts, and rejected suggestions that his actions were the result of substance use.

He told Phillips he was functioning normally at the time, holding down a job, and said claims about drugs were a further attempt to avoid the consequences, describing them as “Plan B” — and adding that it was “as convincing as Plan A was.”

The judge also said Phillips had still not revealed what was used to penetrate the baby, but indicated he considered it “very probable” that Phillips had used his penis, while acknowledging he could not be sure.

Victim impact statements

The court heard powerful victim impact statements from the baby’s family, describing the wider devastation caused by the offending, the trauma of the father being arrested and treated as a suspect, and the impact of the child spending almost a year in foster care during family court proceedings.

The father told the court he still lives with post-traumatic stress disorder and is now faced with the question of how and when to explain to his son what happened to him as a baby.

Life sentence imposed

The judge said he was required to consider the principle of totality and whether the public could be adequately protected by a determinate or extended sentence.

He said that if he had imposed a determinate sentence, it would have been one of 25 years, but concluded a life sentence was necessary due to the seriousness and the ongoing risk posed by Phillips.

He told Phillips he considered the depth of his sexual depravity, planning, opportunism and ruthlessness meant he would remain a danger to children “for the rest of your life,” and said he did not believe the risk would reduce to an acceptable level “within the next 50 years.”

Phillips was sentenced to life imprisonment on each of counts nine and 10, with other sentences imposed concurrently: five years on count five, seven years on count seven, and three years on count 11.

The judge set a minimum term based on a 25-year notional sentence, meaning Phillips will not be eligible to be considered for release for 16 years and 25 days. The judge stressed that this does not mean he will be released at that time, and said he may spend the rest of his life in prison.

Phillips will also be subject to indefinite sex offender notification requirements and was ordered to pay a surcharge within three months of his release.

A MAN convicted of a series of violent and sexual offences against a baby aged no more than 10 weeks has been back before Swansea Crown Court today (Friday, January 16) for sentence, as the prosecution set out the “horrific” impact on the child and his family.

Christopher Phillips was found guilty after a contested trial in which he denied responsibility and blamed others, including the baby’s father and the child’s mother, the court heard.

Opening the sentencing hearing, the prosecution said the jury convicted Phillips of causing grievous bodily harm with intent, including multiple fractured ribs and a bleed on the brain. He was also convicted of two counts of assault by penetration of a child under 13, as well as an assault occasioning actual bodily harm linked to bruising to the child’s testicle.

The most serious sexual count related to an incident on January 23 to 24, 2021, which the prosecutor said caused a deep laceration described by doctors as a catastrophic injury. The court was told the baby required morphine, which expert evidence suggested was “very, very rare” for a child of that age.

The earlier penetration count involved an injury the prosecution said was already healing.

The prosecutor told the judge that Phillips made no admissions in police interviews and continued to deny wrongdoing during the trial, but now accepts he was responsible for the injuries. However, the prosecution urged the court to take a “critical eye” to his account, saying he still did not explain the mechanism of what happened and had blamed other people for a prolonged period.

Victim personal statements were then placed before the court on behalf of the child, who is too young to speak for himself.

The child’s grandmother described the case as the kind of story “you may hear on the news” but said being directly involved “changes you forever.” She said the baby’s injuries could not be erased by any prison sentence and told the court the family lost almost a year with him while he was placed with foster carers during family court proceedings.

The statement said the child was fearful around men after the injuries and that the impact had been “devastating” for the wider family. The grandmother also described the trauma of the baby’s father being arrested at the outset of the investigation and treated as a suspect.

A statement from the baby’s father, read out in court at his request, described the pain of learning about the injuries after being arrested on January 24, 2021. He said he was “shattered” and had to face police questioning while fearing his son might not survive.

He told the court the baby was flown by air ambulance for surgery and that surgeons had considered fitting a colostomy bag due to the severity of the injury, but were ultimately able to repair it. He said the baby later showed distress when being changed on raised changing tables and became anxious during potty training, needing comfort.

The father said his son is now five and that the family cannot yet know the long-term psychological impact. He said the child has been referred for assessment as the family has noticed difficulties with frustration, compulsions, and anxiety-driven behaviours.

He also described the lasting effect on him, saying he has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and continues to receive support. He said one of the hardest issues he faces is deciding what to tell his son in future about what happened and when.

The court was also told Phillips had previous cautions for burglary and for importing a psychoactive substance, as well as a later conviction for importation of a psychoactive substance.

In submissions on sentence, the prosecution said the most serious offences carry a maximum of life imprisonment, and invited the court to treat the case as at “the upper end” of harm and culpability given the age and vulnerability of the baby, the severity of the injuries, and the period over which the offending occurred.

Sentencing is expected to follow after the court has heard from the defence and considered reports and legal submissions.

THE CASE CONTINUES