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Crime

Warning to online sex offenders after work by covert officers leads to 1,300 arrests

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PEOPLE using the internet to abuse children have been warned that they will be caught.

Police have revealed that the work of covert online officers has led to more than 1,300 arrests in Wales and England over the past year.

Between April 2021 and March 2022, police officers working to catch those who commit sexual offences against children online have made 1,362 arrests, safeguarded 1,400 children, and secured jail sentences totalling more than 1,130 years.

Offenders ranged from those who had viewed or shared indecent images online to those who had encouraged children to send them indecent images online, as well as those who groomed children via online sites and then arranged to meet them so that they could sexually abuse them.

National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for Online Child Sexual Exploitation, Assistant Chief Constable Dan Vajzovic, said:

“Thanks to the fantastic work of covert officers across the country, a significant number of children have been safeguarded and dangerous child abusers have been locked behind bars.

“We hope these statistics send a loud and clear message to others who may be tempted to commit these types of offences.

“Many of the offenders we catch online attempt to justify their actions as less harmful than in ‘real life’. This is simply not the case, as we see time and again offenders who are moving between online and real world offending. All child abuse is illegal, causes serious harm to real victims, and will have severe consequences for you as an offender.

“We have officers working around the clock across all areas of the internet to catch those who are seeking to use it as a gateway to abuse children.”

Police regularly work closely with partner agencies to help prevent those people who are on the cusp of offending from taking the next step.

Recent convictions include a man jailed for four and a half years for arranging or facilitating commission of a child sex offence and distributing indecent photographs of children, after he drove 145 miles from his home, where he believed he was meeting the girl and her mother.

Another man was recently jailed for three years after he pleaded guilty to attempting to arrange the commission of a child sex offence.

He communicated online and via email with someone he believed was the mother of a young girl.

He discussed his sexual interest, before making arrangements to meet the woman’s child, with the intention of sexually abusing her.

During these investigations, there was never a real life victim and no children were ever in any danger.

Director of the Stop It Now! helpline, Donald Findlater, said:

“Mostly, the tens of thousands of people in the UK viewing sexual images of children online don’t conform to the stereotypes – they are our friends, family, neighbours and colleagues.

“Many of the people contacting our helpline started out simply looking on mainstream adult pornography sites, but over time they found they needed different or more extreme content. Some don’t know the law and need it spelling out. A few are struggling with a long-standing sexual interest in children and think that looking at ‘only pictures’ is a way of managing that interest.

“Everyone needs to know that looking at sexual images and videos of under 18s is illegal; that children are harmed by it; that serious consequences await those involved in it; but that our helpline and website give anonymous, and confidential support and advice to stop and stay stopped.”

If you have concerns that someone you know is being abused on the internet, or is using the internet to abuse children, please report your concerns immediately to your local police force on 101.
You can also visit www.stopitnow.org.uk for further advice, including if you are concerned for children or young people.
If you become aware of indecent images of children, you can report this to your local police force and/ or to the Internet Watch Foundation: IWF – Welcome to the IWF

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Crime

Homeless man sentenced for crimes fuelled by crack cocaine 

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A 30-YEAR-OLD man who has found himself homeless as a result of an addiction to crack cocaine was this week brought before magistrates after admitting causing criminal damage to his former partner’s front door.

The relationship between Reece Bateson-Fenwich and his girlfriend Jordan Thomas was described in court as being ‘volatile’.

“Both parties were frustrated with each other,” probation officer Charmain Fox told Haverfordwest magistrates this week.

“He believes she still has personal items of his, which have a monetary and a sentimental value. 

“He’s been very honest with me about his struggles of being homeless as well as his use of crack cocaine.  At the moment, he’s either staying with people who are using substances or who invite him to stay with them when he’s in possession of a substance himself.

“Until his accommodation is secure, he’s going to continue in this homeless cycle.”

Bateson-Feneck’s court appearance was the result of his visit to Ms Thomas’ home in the Mount estate, Milford Haven on March 16.

“She heard someone storming upstairs to her flat,” said Crown Prosecutor Abigail Jackson.  “She knew it was the defendant because of his voice.  He was banging on the door really loudly and her ring doorbell showed the defendant standing outside.

“He shouted ‘I want my tv back, after all you’ve done with me.  I swear to God, when I get in there I’m going to f****** stab you.”

Ms Jackson said that Jordan Thomas believed the defendant was on crack cocaine at the time of the incident.

“I knew he was on crack cocaine as he wasn’t speaking clearly,” she said.

Bateson-Feneck pleaded guilty to causing criminal damage to the door, valued at £39.99, and an additional charge of assaulting MS Thomas by beating during a previous incident on January 13 when he pushed the victim, making contact with her neck.

For both offences, Bateson-Feneck was sentenced to a 12-month community order during which he must complete 15 rehabilitation requirement days to address his accommodation situation.  He was also ordered to pay £100 compensation to Ms Thomas and £39.99 compensation for the damage caused to the door. 

 He was fined £120 and ordered to pay a £114 surcharge and £85 costs. 

 A restraining order was imposed preventing him from making contact with Jordan Thomas, visiting her home address and entering any information concerning her on any electronic device or social media.

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Crime

Milford Haven man accused of assaulting his own sister

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A MILFORD HAVEN man has appeared before magistrates charged with assaulting his sister occasioning her actual bodily harm.

Jordan Lawson, 25, was arrested on June 13, 2023, following the alleged assault against his sister, Kayleigh Lawson.

“He punched his sister, he kicked her in the face and grabbed her by the throat,” Crown Prosecutor Abigail Jackson told Haverfordwest magistrates this week.

Lawson, of Marble Hall Road, Milford Haven, denies the charge.

His trial has been listed to take place before Haverfordwest magistrates on May 20.  He was released on conditional bail, the conditions being not to contact his sister, nor a neighbour who witnessed the alleged incident.

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Crime

Woman will quit the booze after seeing shocking drunken video in court

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A HAVERFORDWEST woman this week vowed to undertake ‘a complete alcohol abstinence’ after being shown court video footage of her screaming, drunken and often incoherent abuse towards residents in a block of flats.

Louise Wiltshire, 59, entered the flats at Fleming Crescent on the night of March 10.  The video, captured by one of the residents on her mobile phone, showed Wiltshire hammering on doors, kicking them with her feet and lunging towards one of the residents whilst shouting drunken abuse.

“The resident was frightened that she was going to be assaulted,” Crown Prosecutor Abigail Jackson told Haverfordwest magistrates this week.

Earlier that night Wiltshire had made repeated 999 calls to the emergency services.

“The first time, the call handler noted that she was very difficult to understand,” she said.  “She was slurring her words and was incoherent.

“She called 999 a second time, saying she was unhappy about an incident that the police had previously dealt with and then she called yet again, making repeated requests for police officers and an ambulance to attend an incident as she believed someone was dead.”

Police eventually discovered Wiltshire in a corridor at a block of flats in Fleming Crescent.

“She was screaming and shouting at the occupants and was verbally abusive,” continued Ms Jackson.  “Her behaviour was totally unacceptable.”

Wiltshire, of Fleming Crescent, pleaded guilty to being drunk and disorderly in a public place, of common assault on the resident who fell backwards as she attempted to close her front door on the defendant and of causing wasteful employment of police time.

She was legally represented in court by Mr David Williams.

“The lady you see before you this morning is completely different to the lady you saw in the video footage,” he said.

“The first thing she told me this morning was how bad she feels about what happened.”

Mr Williams went on to say that the defendant’s behaviour spirals out of control after she consumes large quantities of alcohol.

“For a dangerously long time, my client has had an unhealthy relationship with alcohol,” he said.  “She has previously made efforts, but the point has now arrived where she realises that controlled drinking is not the way for her.  

“As we all know, it’s very easy after a few drinks to tempt yourself into another one, but for this lady, it’s fatal.  Alcoholism is a bad illness that takes several attempts to combat.  Please give my client the opportunity to start her journey towards complete abstinence.”

Wiltshire was sentenced to a 24 month community order during which she must carry out 20 rehabilitation activity requirement days and 200 hours of unpaid work.  She was also subject to a 120-day alcohol monitoring requirement.  She must pay court costs of £85 and a £114 surcharge.

“I’d just like to say how terribly sorry I am,” Louise Wiltshire told the magistrates following her sentence.  “Hearing that video was what I needed.  It was disgusting.”

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