A convicted sex offender's secret laptop, hidden under a kitchen counter behind a removable wooden plinth, was discovered by a police sniffer dog, leading to charges of possessing hundreds of indecent images of children and breaching court orders.
Discovery at a Hotel
Police had gone to convicted sex offender Joey Morgan's house after plain-clothes officers saw him using a laptop in the public area of a hotel which he had not registered. The 53-year-old was on the sex offenders register and subject to a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) following a 2019 conviction for making indecent images of children. One of the terms of the SHPO prohibited him from owning any devices for using the internet or storing data unless he notified the police within three days of purchase.
Arrest and Search
On July 6 this year, plain-clothes police officers saw Morgan in the public area of a Llandrindod Wells hotel using a black Acer laptop which had not been registered with police. By July 9, the laptop seen by officers had still not been registered, so Morgan was arrested on suspicion of breaching the SHPO.
With the suspect in custody, a team of search officers, detectives, and a specialist digital detection dog from South Wales Police carried out an intensive search of the defendant's address. The court heard that at the property, the digital sniffer dog found the Acer laptop hidden underneath the kitchen counter concealed by a removable wooden plinth. Search officers also found an SD memory card hidden under the hallway carpet and a games console tucked away at the back of the mailbox in the communal area of the property. None of the devices had been registered with police.
Indecent Images Found
An examination of the SD card found it contained hundreds of indecent images of children. Joey Morgan, of Ithon Road, Llandrindod Wells, Powys, pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing indecent images of children, two counts of breaching a sexual harm prevention order, and theft – an offence which saw him stealing the games console recovered from the mailbox – when he appeared in the dock at Cardiff Magistrates Court. The court heard he had previously breached the SHPO in 2021 while living in the Gwent area.
Dangerous Individual
Speaking after the hearing, detective inspector Anthea Ponting of Dyfed-Powys Police's offender management unit said: "There is no doubt that Joey Morgan is a dangerous individual who does not abide by the orders issued by the court and the requirements placed on him. I am grateful to the team of specialist units that worked together to bring Morgan back before the courts to sentence him for his offending. We await the result."
Morgan was remanded into custody and will next appear at Merthyr Tydfil Magistrates Court on August 7 for sentencing.
