A former children's entertainer unmasked as a paedophile lied to police about not having an undeclared phone but was caught out when the device started "buzzing" in a kitchen drawer, a court has heard.
In total police recovered three secret devices from registered sex offender Kingsley Perera's home address during an unannounced visit to the property. Swansea Crown Court heard probation officers are worried about the "ongoing pattern of secrecy" as far as the 63-year-old defendant is concerned, and worried about his lack of insight into his offending and his refusal to take responsibility for his actions.
Police find three hidden devices
Regan Walters, prosecuting, told the court that Perera has been a registered sex offender and been subject to a sexual harm prevention order since December 2020 following his conviction for possession of indecent images of children. As part of that court order, the defendant must notify police of any internet-enabled device which he owns or any device capable to storing digital images.
The court heard that on the morning of May 5 this year police conducted a routine unannounced visit at Perera's home in the West Cross area of Swansea. During the visit the defendant was asked if he had any devices which he had not yet registered with police, and he told officers he did not.
However, the prosecutor said that a search of the property uncovered a tablet device from the bedroom and as a result Perera was arrested on suspicion of breaching the order. The defendant told officers the tablet was not his, and named a friend who he said had left it with him the previous week. He again denied owning any undisclosed devices.
The court heard that the search of the address continued, and officers went on to find a digital camera in the kitchen - which the defendant claimed had belonged to his mother. While they were seizing the camera officers heard a "buzzing" noise coming from the drawer of a dresser, and when they checked they found a mobile phone.
The court heard that police subsequently spoke to the friend who the defendant had named as being the owner of the bedroom tablet - the friend denied any knowledge of the device and claimed they'd not been to the defendant's property in more than a year.
Judge refuses plea change
Kingsley Perera, of Baywood Avenue, West Cross, Swansea, had previously pleaded guilty to three counts of breaching a sexual harm prevention order when he appeared in the dock without legal representation to make an application to vacate his pleas. After hearing submissions from the defendant in which he again said the devices found by police had not been his and said he had memory issues, judge Huw Rees refused the application and said he would move to sentencing the defendant.
The court heard that Perera has eight previous convictions for 23 offences.
In December 2020 the defendant was sentenced to 10 months in prison and made subject to a 10-year sexual harm prevention order after being convicted at trial of possessing almost 4,000 images of child sex abuse on his mobiles, including more than 600 Category A photos which show the most extreme kind of abuse of children including rape.
During his trial the defendant had denied downloading the images and pointed the finger of blame at others - including his sister, a friend, and some of the homeless and vulnerable people he helped though his charitable work - and said they had acted out of spite or for their own sexual purposes. Sending Perera down, the trial judge said one worrying aspect of the case was the fact that the defendant had been working as a children's entertainer and clown knowing he had a sexual interest in youngsters.
In April 2022, Perera was handed a suspended prison sentence after failing to tell police he had moved from Swansea to Port Talbot. Police only found out about the new address after receiving information from the Department for Work and Pensions, and when officers went to the property on Pen-y-Cae Road they were "concerned" that one of the bedrooms appeared to be a child's room complete with a "racing car"-themed bed.
Three months after that hearing Perera was back in the dock after being caught in the Townhill area of Swansea with a secret Huawei phone which he had not told the police about and which he tried to hide in a garden shed when approached by officers. On that occasion he was sentenced to a total of 15 months in prison.
Sentencing and impact
Judge Rees said during an unannounced visit to the defendant's house by police officers, Perera had denied having any undisclosed devices but a search had uncovered three such devices. He also said it was clear from what he had read that the defendant had also denied having any such devices when asked by a probation officer prior to the police visit.
The judge said a probation report raised concerns about Perera's "ongoing pattern of secrecy", his lack of insight in the seriousness of his offending, and his seeming refusal to accept responsibility for his actions.
With one-third discounts for his guilty pleas, Perera was sentenced to 16 months in prison. He will serve half the sentence in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community. The defendant remains subject to the sexual harm prevention order.
