News

Victim speaks out about sexual abuse

Published

11 years ago

November 13, 2014

CARMARTHENSHIRE girl Annabelle Forest was just seven years old when she was inducted into a twisted sex cult by her own mother; an experience she writes about it in The Devil on the Door Step: My Escape from a Satanic Sex Cult. Annabelle, who now has two children and a husband, says: “When I look at my daughter and feel my heart swell, it defies all my understanding that there are people like my own mother in this world – a woman capable of harming her own flesh and blood in the way she harmed me.”

At the age of seven, Annabelle was woken up at night to watch her mother, Jacqueline Marling perform a sex act on a man named Colin Batley, and was told “I will have you when your periods start.” Batley was the leader of their church and ‘ruled the cult with an iron will’, with his warped ideology based on Aleister Crowley’s Book of Law. He would control Annabelle and her mother’s lives, not letting them do things such as take photographs, or let their grandparents stay the night because it was ‘against the Church rules.’ He even told her that she could not look him directly in the eyes or she would go directly to the Abyss, where she would endure a lifetime of suffering.

If she forgot, she would be shouted at by him saying: “Can you see the devil in there? He can see you.” At the age of eleven, Batley raped her after she came in from playing on a bouncy castle with her friends, saying: “I told you I’d have you.” He manipulated and tricked her into thinking she had to go through a series of ‘tests’ in which she had to do as she was told.

Once he had finished with her, he’d say: “The Gods are pleased with you” or: “You passed this test.” He called himself ‘Prince Priest’, saying she was the chosen one. He told her of ‘The ways of the Scarlet woman’, who would be the wife of Prince Priest and bring glory of the stars into the hearts of man. Three years later, at the age of 14, she was forced to perform a sex act of Batley with her mother and forced to have sex with a boy the same age as her who had learning difficulties, which her mother filmed for Batley.

The events led her to attempting to take her own life, where she says: “Dying felt like the answer.” She took 24 paracetamol tablets and went to sleep, but it did not work. Batley told her that she lived because the Gods were protecting her. At 18 years of age, Annabelle fell pregnant with Batley’s child conceived through rape, which he denied was him and tried to make her abort.

Annabelle’s mother told her: “You want to try keeping your legs crossed a bit more.” However, Batley later changed his mind and told her she would be a murderer if she rejected a child from the Gods. After having her baby, Emily in February 2008, she was forced into prostitution in Bristol by Batley and her mother, and was told: “Your name up here is Camilla”, and had to text Batley after every person she’d ‘had’, and later being told she should become an ‘all-round whore where she should offer a wider range of services.

Annabelle managed to escape and managed to run to the police, where she revealed she had been forced to sleep with over 1,800 men. In March 2011, former Tesco security worker, Colin Batley of Kidwelly, was jailed indefinitely after a judge described him as dangerous and condemned his role as ‘ruler of a sick little kingdom’, with her mother, Jacqueline Marling being jailed in 2011 for a minimum of 12 years. Annabelle describes in detail what happened to her through her story, which proves how her strength and courage helped her to heal and find justice, and has said that if her book makes one person think or saves one person’s life, it has been worth it.

Crime

Castlemartin man back before magistrates over multiple alleged assaults

Published

3 minutes ago

December 14, 2025

Court Reporter

Defendant remanded on conditional bail ahead of further hearing

A CASTLEMARTIN man has appeared repeatedly before magistrates this month over a string of alleged offences including assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH), non-fatal strangulation, common assault, and criminal damage.

Anthony Alcock, 40, of Pwll Street, Castlemartin, faces six linked charges arising from incidents reported to have taken place earlier this year. Alcock, who did not enter pleas during the administrative hearings, appeared on several occasions as the court dealt with bail issues and case management.

Multiple assault allegations
The charges listed before magistrates include:
Assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH)
Intentional strangulation
Common assault of a woman
Criminal damage relating to a domestic incident
Further assault allegations linked to the same complainant
A breach of bail conditions

The court heard that Alcock had previously been granted conditional bail. However, he was brought back before magistrates twice during the same reporting period for alleged breaches of those conditions, resulting in updated bail decisions.

Bail breached — defendant remanded

On two separate entries in the court register, Alcock was listed as having breached his bail, leading magistrates to remand him into custody pending the next hearing. On other dates within the same week, he was again re-released on conditional bail, with strict terms imposed, including restrictions on contact with the complainant and exclusions from certain locations.

He is now remanded on conditional bail with his next appearance set for Swansea Crown Court, where the more serious matters — including the alleged non-fatal strangulation — will be dealt with.

Case sent to Crown Court

Magistrates directed that the case is too serious to be heard locally and must proceed to the Crown Court for trial or sentence.

The Herald understands that all listed charges fall under the same prosecution reference, indicating they form part of a single ongoing domestic abuse prosecution. No further details were opened in court at this stage.

Crime

Rogue roofer conned homeowner out of thousands

Published

19 minutes ago

December 14, 2025

Court Reporter

Caerphilly investigation leads to court conviction

A ROGUE trader from Pembroke has been ordered to pay more than £6,000 after duping a homeowner into handing over thousands for unnecessary roofing work.

Douggie Whitbread, aged twenty-five and living at Coldwell Terrace, Pembroke, persuaded his victim that he “probably needed a new roof” before charging £4,350 for work that was either unnecessary or not carried out properly.

Whitbread admitted two counts of fraud relating to a property on Griffiths Street, Ystrad Mynach, with the offences taking place between August 12 and October 16, 2023.

He appeared before Cwmbran Magistrates’ Court, where he was ordered to pay a total of £6,130. That includes £4,350 in compensation, £1,500 in prosecution costs, a £200 fine, and an £80 victim surcharge.

The case was brought following an investigation by Caerphilly Trading Standards, who urged residents to be cautious of unsolicited offers of home maintenance work.

News

South Pembrokeshire Short Mat Bowls Association – Week Twelve results

Published

37 minutes ago

December 14, 2025

Herald Sport

A PACKET week of fixtures in the South Pembrokeshire Short Mat Bowls Association’s Friendly League saw key wins at both ends of the table as teams continue to jostle for position going into the second half of the season.

Match results (Week 12):

Hundleton 10–0 Lamphey
Badgers 2–8 St Johns
Reynalton 0–10 Carew
Kilgetty 8–2 East Williamston
Cosheston v Llanteg – postponed
St Twynnells – bye week

A previously postponed fixture was also completed, with St Twynnells drawing 5–5 with Reynaltón.

League table (after Week 12):
East Williamston remain top, having played 10 and won eight, with a strong shots difference of +125. Reynaltón sit second after 11 games with 58 points, while St Johns and Hundleton follow closely behind on 54 points each.

At the mid-table mark, Carew (49 points), St Twynnells (48) and Kilgetty (46) remain tightly grouped. Badgers, Lamphey, Llanteg and Cosheston make up the lower order, though the number of games played varies, leaving room for movement in the coming weeks.

Full standings:

Team	P	W	D	L	S/D	Points
East Williamston	10	8	0	2	+125	72
Reynaltón	11	5	2	4	+35	58
St Johns	10	5	1	4	+32	54
Hundleton	10	5	1	4	-2	54
Carew	9	5	0	4	-25	49
St Twynnells	10	4	2	4	-34	48
Kilgetty	11	5	0	6	-44	46
Badgers	11	3	1	7	-59	45
Lamphey	11	5	0	6	-10	44
Llanteg	8	4	0	4	-5	41
Cosheston	9	3	1	5	-13	40