Crime

Narberth man ‘demonstrated an unhealthy interest in young girls’

Published

3 years ago

August 30, 2022

A PEMBROKESHIRE man in his 60s sent messages to what he believed to be four different young girls, but they turned out to be three different paedophile hunters and a police officer working undercover, Swansea Crown Court has heard.

Robert Daye asked the youngsters for photographs of them in their school uniforms, talked about performing sex acts on them, and told one of them he wanted to put her over his knee and spank her.

Helen Randall, prosecuting, told the court that in August last year Daye started communicating what appeared to be an online profile belonging to a 13-year-old girl.

Over the following fortnight, the defendant sent a series of messages during which he sent the girl a picture of his erect penis and asked if she wanted to play with it, said he wanted to have sex with her, and told her he wanted to put her over his knee and spank her.

The prosecutor said the profile Daye was communicating with was being operated by a police officer. As a result of the messages, the defendant was arrested on September 4 and answered “no comment” to all questions asked before being released on bail.

The court heard Daye resumed his online activities in the summer of this year when he sent messages to what he thought were three 13-year-old girls – these accounts were being run by members of groups set up to target sex offenders. During the conversations with these profiles, the defendant talked about the girls’ breasts, described the kinds of sex acts he wanted to perform on them, and again asked for photographs of the children in school uniforms.

On July 4 members of one of the paedophile hunter groups arranged to meet Daye – after confronting him at the rendezvous, they called the police. Read about a man who burnt girlfriend with cigarette, stamped on her face and broke her jaw here.

Robert Daye, aged 63, of Cold Blow, Narberth, had previously pleaded guilty to four counts of attempted sexual communication with a child when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. He has one previous conviction from 1986 for an unrelated offence.

Dan Griffiths, for Daye, said it was accepted there was a degree of persistence to the defendant’s offending which had continued after his arrest and release on bail, and that his client had “demonstrated an unhealthy interest in young girls”. He said it was clear from the pre-sentence report into Daye that the digger driver was a “somewhat isolated man” who had enjoyed “few emotionally intimate relationships, and whose life had been characterised by prolonged periods of loneliness”. The advocate invited the court to find there was a realistic prospect of rehabilitation in his client’s case.

Judge Geraint Walters told Daye he had had the “gall” to continue offending even while under investigation by the police. He said though there seemed to be differences within the pre-sentence report as to the level of risk the defendant posed, he was prepared to follow its recommendations. With a discount for his guilty pleas, Daye was sentenced to 15 months in prison suspended for two years, and he was ordered to complete a rehabilitation course and Maps for Change sex offender’s programme. He will be a registered sex offender for the next years 10 years and will be subject to a sexual harm prevention order for the same length of time.

Crime

Jury told to continue deliberations in historic child sex abuse trial

Published

18 minutes ago

December 18, 2025

Rieve Nesbitt-Marr

Judge says majority verdict may be accepted after jurors report deadlock at Swansea Crown Court

A JURY has been told to continue its deliberations in the trial of a Milford Haven man accused of historic child sex offences after indicating it could not reach a unanimous verdict.

Thomas Kirk, aged 50, of Meyler Crescent, Milford Haven, is on trial at Swansea Crown Court accused of oral rape and sexual assault of a child. The offences are alleged to have taken place in Pembrokeshire between 2007 and 2009, when the complainant was aged between thirteen and fifteen.

At midday on Wednesday (Dec 18), the jury returned to court to say they were unable to reach a verdict on which all jurors agreed.

Judge Paul Thomas KC told the jury that while he would be prepared to accept a majority verdict if at least ten jurors were in agreement, he still wanted them to continue deliberations in an effort to reach a unanimous decision.

The jury was then sent back out to continue considering its verdict.

The trial continues.

Crime

Police appeal to locate 69-year-old man wanted in harassment investigation

Published

44 minutes ago

December 18, 2025

Tom Sinclair

DYFED-POWYS POLICE are appealing for information to help locate a man from the Ammanford area who is wanted in connection with a harassment offence.

Alan Tait, aged 69, is being sought by officers as part of an ongoing investigation.

Police believe he may currently be in the Derbyshire area, but say he also has links to South Wales and Gwent.

Anyone with information that could assist officers in locating him is urged to contact Dyfed-Powys Police.

Crime

Man jailed after strangling partner and attacking police officer

Published

13 hours ago

December 17, 2025

Court Reporter

A MILFORD HAVEN man who strangled his partner during a violent domestic assault before attacking a police officer has been jailed for two years.

Timothy John, aged 38, of Howarth Close, Milford Haven, appeared at Swansea Crown Court after admitting a series of offences arising from an incident in October.

The court heard that John had been arguing with his partner about his drug use when the situation escalated into violence. Prosecutor Craig Jones said the defendant grabbed the woman by the throat and held her in a chokehold for around ten seconds, leaving her struggling to breathe and fearing she would lose consciousness.

During the attack, John also punched and kicked the victim before smashing a glass bong over her head. At the time, the woman was still in her underwear and managed to flee the property and run into the street to seek help.

John also damaged the victim’s mobile phone by biting the screen, rendering it unusable.

Police attended the address the following day to take a statement from the victim and discovered John hiding in a bedroom. When officers attempted to detain him, he assaulted a female police officer, knocking her glasses to the floor, before escaping from the property.

The defendant handed himself in around 24 hours later.

John pleaded guilty to intentional strangulation, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, assaulting an emergency worker, criminal damage, and escaping from lawful custody. The court was told he has five previous convictions for six offences, although none for violence.

Defending, Dan Griffiths said John accepted the relationship was over and had been using cocaine at the time of the incident, which had made him paranoid, volatile and unpredictable.

He told the court that John had previously worked as a fisherman, roofer and welder, but had struggled with alcohol and substance misuse. Mr Griffiths added that a pre-sentence report highlighted a difficult upbringing and noted a lack of insight into his offending, with concerns that he attempted to minimise his behaviour.

The defence urged the court to consider a suspended sentence to allow John to work with probation services.

Sentencing, Judge Catherine Richards said the offence involved serious strangulation and a sustained assault on an intimate partner, leaving the victim frightened in her own home.