A 76-year-old paedophile who befriended a vulnerable schoolboy living in the care system was caught after hospital staff raised concerns, a court has heard.
Dylan Jones attended Carmarthen's Glangwili Hospital with the child, who claimed to be a distant relative. Suspicious staff alerted police, leading to his arrest and prosecution for breaching a sexual harm prevention order.
Hospital staff raise the alarm
Swansea Crown Court heard that Jones has been committing child sexual offences for more than 30 years and is subject to a life-long sexual harm prevention order banning him from unsupervised contact with anyone under 16.
On August 11 this year, Jones was admitted to Glangwili Hospital after apparently suffering a fall, accompanied by a child aged under 16. Staff initially assumed the boy was a family member.
Nurses became suspicious when the boy returned the following day claiming to be the grandson of Jones' cousin. When Jones was seen giving the child £20 and the keys to his house, the nurses intervened and began documenting what was happening before alerting police.
Police investigation
When the child returned to the hospital on August 14, he was spoken to by waiting police officers. Police also spoke to Jones and examined his phone, which showed calls and texts between the pair.
Prosecutor Sian Cutter told the court that police found the boy was living in care and that neither the care home nor the child's mother knew of his relationship with Jones. CCTV footage showed the pair together at Merlin's Walk shopping centre in Carmarthen in July.
The child told officers he had known Jones for some time and that they would talk about football. He said he would attend Jones' house with another male he did not identify, and that Jones had told him about his past. The boy said he did not think Jones' convictions should be held against him.
In his interview, Jones told officers the child had said he was 16 and denied knowing about the prohibition on unsupervised contact with children.
Previous convictions
Jones, of Bro Einon, Llanybydder, Carmarthenshire, pleaded guilty to breaching a sexual harm prevention order. He has four previous convictions for 21 offences, nine of which are sexual matters.
In 1991, he was convicted of buggery, gross indecency, and indecent assault relating to a 12-year-old boy. In 1999, he was sentenced to nine years in prison for grooming and indecently assaulting two boys both aged under 10. In 2008, he was sentenced to 15 months for nine counts of possession of indecent images and made subject to a sexual offences prevention order.
He breached that order in 2017 and was sentenced to two years in prison after having contact with a 13-year-old boy and giving the child gifts and money. An indefinite sexual harm prevention order was imposed in 2019, banning him from unsupervised contact with children under 16.
Megan Williams, for Jones, said there had been a "significant change in circumstances" with a serious deterioration in his health, meaning he was now house-bound. She said Jones had moved to more suitable accommodation in the Lampeter area and now only came into contact with health care professionals. She added that the child's statement to police showed he did not feel uncomfortable in Jones' company and that "nothing physical happened between them".
Judge Catherine Richards said she wanted more information from probation on whether there was a realistic alternative to immediate custody. Sentencing was adjourned to November 19, and Jones was readmitted to bail until that date.
