Crime
Narberth man ‘demonstrated an unhealthy interest in young girls’

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
Alcoholic mother sentenced to four years for child cruelty

A MOTHER from Pembrokeshire, facing 15 counts of child cruelty at Swansea Crown Court, has been handed a four-year prison sentence for her decade-long abuse of her own children.
The mother, whose identity remains concealed to safeguard the children’s privacy, was revealed to have physically and emotionally abused her offspring, who range in age from 5 to 14.
Prosecutor Dean Pulling remarked on Monday (Sept 18), “The prolonged cruelty endured by these children is incomprehensible – from physical assaults to emotional torment.”
On a chilling day in June of the previous year, the father of the younger children observed an alarming red mark around one child’s eye. The child reluctantly revealed that her mother had shoved her in the shower, causing the injury. Additional bruises were discovered on another child.
Concerns intensified when a school teaching assistant spotted the injury. Although the child was initially reticent, they later admitted to the school headteacher that their mother was the perpetrator, an account corroborated by their sibling.
In a distressing turn of events, the mother’s verbal and physical abuse was captured on recordings. In one recording, she is overheard menacingly declaring, “I don’t care what happens here. If I strike you, never tell your teacher.”
Upon hearing these recordings, the children’s father was left “physically sickened” and promptly turned them over to the school and subsequently to the police.
The family’s home was reported to be in a dire state. Prosecutor Pulling detailed that the dwelling was filthy, with damaged doors, cluttered children’s rooms, and even soiled puppy pads strewn around, emanating an overpowering odour of urine.
When confronted, the mother conceded her actions but downplayed the severity, accusing the children of deceit and the father of manipulating them into making accusations. She stated, “I didn’t hit them hard. It was merely to shock them.”
Mr. Pulling highlighted the long-standing engagement of both social services and the police with the mother, dating back to 2010. The children, conditioned by their mother’s threats, remained silent, fearing separation if they confided in anyone.
Gravely, a paediatrician’s evaluation concluded that the children’s injuries were consistent with abuse. Additionally, the court was appalled to learn of the children’s developmental delays, dental issues, and infestations.
Defence counsel Stuart John lamented the lack of decisive intervention, stating, “It’s tragic that social services did not intervene sooner. These children deserved better.”
Acknowledging her wrongdoings, the defendant expressed remorse, citing efforts to combat her alcohol addiction.
Judge Catherine Richards conveyed her horror, asserting that the audio recordings were “truly harrowing for any adult to hear, let alone a child.”
The mother was sentenced to a total of four years imprisonment for the initial 12 charges, with additional concurrent sentences for the remaining offences relating to specific incidents.
Crime
Tenby doorman and sound engineer jailed for five years

GARY BLOUNT, a 44-year-old man from Whitland previously employed as a doorman and sound engineer in Tenby, has been jailed for five years today (Sept 18) at Swansea Crown Court.
Blount was unanimously found guilty by a jury on two charges of child sexual assault last month.
The incidents, involving a child aged five or six, occurred between 2014 and October 2016. Blount had denied both charges, which were related to the same victim.
The trial, held at Swansea Crown Court, lasted three days.
The allegations were brought to light last year when the young victim confided in a school counsellor.
Prosecutor Ian Wright shared that the child later informed her mother, expressing remorse for not speaking up sooner.
She described feeling “uncomfortable” with Blount’s advances, but he had told her such actions were “normal”.
On July 8, 2022, the victim provided her account to the police, detailing the inappropriate contact. Blount was subsequently arrested and charged when he visited Haverfordwest Police Station the next day.
Judge Geraint Walters had delayed sentencing until Monday, September 18, to allow for the preparation of a pre-sentence report.
Crime
Carmarthen man faces court on multiple sex offence charges

Daniel Gravell, 41 from Carmarthen appeared before Llanelli Magistrates’ Court on Thursday morning. He faces grave allegations involving sex offences against multiple women, shedding light on a case that spans nearly two decades.
Gravell stands accused of committing three counts of rape, each involving distinct victims, and one count of disclosing private sexual photographs, affecting another woman. The troubling rape charges are linked to incidents reported in 2002, 2005, and the most recent in 2022.
During the preliminary court appearance, Gravell, residing in Porth Y Plas, Johnstown, Carmarthen, merely confirmed his name and address. As the courtroom filled with anticipation, he offered no indication of his plea. The case will now progress to Swansea Crown Court, where a plea and trial preparation hearing is scheduled for October 2.
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