Case sent to Crown Court as magistrates rule offences too serious

A PEMBROKE man who indicated he intends to plead guilty to a series of child sex offences has been sent to the Crown Court for sentencing.

David Lewis, 42, of Ashdale Lane in Pembroke, first appeared before Llanelli Magistrates’ Court on January 30, where he indicated guilty pleas to attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and attempting to cause or incite a female child under 13 to engage in sexual activity.

A further charge of attempting to cause a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity was also put to him.

Magistrates ruled the case was too serious to be dealt with at their level and committed Lewis to Swansea Crown Court for sentencing.

The offences relate to online communications with what Lewis believed to be a 12-year-old girl, but which was in fact a decoy account.

Prosecutors said Lewis reached out to the account and continued messaging over several days in November.

During the exchanges he falsely claimed to be 20 years old and sent a photograph of a young male who was not him.

When the decoy account indicated the user was in school, Lewis continued to message and asked if he could see the girl in her school uniform. He also suggested she go to the toilet at school and open her shirt so he could see her.

The court heard Lewis also attempted to get the child to watch adult content and asked about meeting either her or a friend.

Police arrested Lewis on January 29 and took him to Haverfordwest police station, where his mobile phone was seized and linked to the Snapchat account used in the communications. During interview he answered “no comment” to police questions.

Further investigation of his devices uncovered indecent images of children. Officers seized seven devices, one of which contained 261 Category A images, 71 Category B images, and 51 Category C images.

Lewis has as one previous conviction for handling stolen goods. He had been on police bail since August 6 while officers investigated the offences.

At a recent hearing the case was adjourned for four weeks, with the judge indicating a suspended sentence may be considered.

Lewis was granted bail and is due to appear again at Swansea Crown Court for sentencing on April 9.

Judge says victim had no idea his offer of assistance was driven by sexual motive

A CARMARTHENSHIRE pensioner has been jailed after sexually assaulting a vulnerable teenage girl he pretended to help in a town centre.

Nigel Page, 68, of Ger-y-Capel in Llangain near Carmarthen, was sentenced to 10 years in prison at Swansea Crown Court after being convicted of sexual assault.

The court heard Page encountered the heavily intoxicated teenager in Carmarthen town centre in August last year. The girl needed somewhere to charge her phone and Page offered to take her back to his home, presenting himself as a good Samaritan willing to help.

However, once inside the property, the situation quickly escalated.

Prosecutors said Page removed his clothes and put on a pair of stockings and a thong before pushing the teenager to the floor. He then kissed her and rubbed his crotch against her stomach before sexually assaulting her.

Fearing she was about to be raped, the girl managed to escape from the house and flagged down a passing motorist who gave her a lift back into town.

The court heard that Page also left the property and returned to Carmarthen in search of the teenager, although his reason for doing so was never established.

Page denied the offence but was found guilty by a jury following a trial.

Defending, Dyfed Thomas told the court that a mental health disorder had played a role in what he described as the defendant’s “irrational and bizarre” behaviour that night.

Sentencing him, Judge Catherine Richards said the teenager had been extremely vulnerable and unable to make sensible decisions when she accepted Page’s offer of help.

She said the victim had no idea his apparent act of kindness was motivated by sexual attraction.

The judge also told the court that Page had shown little genuine insight into his actions and had been refusing to take medication for his mental health condition.

Given the erratic behaviour he displayed during the evening, Judge Richards said she was satisfied there had been an “ulterior motive” behind Page’s decision to go back into Carmarthen to search for the girl after she fled.

Page was sentenced to 10 years in prison and placed on the sex offenders register for 10 years.

A 37-YEAR-OLD Ceredigion man has been jailed after repeatedly failing to comply with the terms of a suspended sentence order imposed for an assault.

Michael Smith, aged 37, of Cross Inn, Llandysul, appeared before Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court on Monday (Mar 9).

The court heard that Smith had failed to comply with requirements attached to a suspended sentence order originally imposed by Aberystwyth Magistrates’ Court on June 11, 2025.

He admitted breaching the order by failing to attend unpaid work on December 21, 2025, missing a planned probation appointment on January 29, 2026, and failing to provide acceptable evidence within the specified timeframe.

Smith admitted the breach when he appeared in court.

Magistrates were told the suspended sentence had originally been imposed following Smith’s conviction for assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

The offence took place on October 13, 2024, at his home in Cross Inn, where he assaulted Sasha White, causing her actual bodily harm.

Because of the repeated breach of the order, magistrates decided to activate the suspended sentence.

Smith was ordered to serve the 16-week prison sentence that had previously been suspended for 18 months.

A further four weeks’ imprisonment was imposed consecutively on a related matter, bringing the total custodial sentence to 20 weeks.

In their sentencing remarks, magistrates said Smith had shown “very low and limited compliance” with the court order and had demonstrated a disregard for the requirements placed upon him.

The court also noted that he had committed a further offence shortly after the suspended sentence order had originally been imposed and that the breach represented his third failure to comply.

Smith had been on bail prior to the hearing but was taken into custody following the court’s decision.