Ashley John, 26, pretended to be a teenage sheep farmer and sent explicit photos and videos of himself to what he thought was a 13-year-old girl, a court has heard. He was in fact sending sexual messages to an undercover police officer.
John was sentenced to three years and 10 months in prison. Police said the sentence "reflects the serious risk that sexual communication poses to children and their safety and well-being".
Undercover decoy operation
Alycia Carpanin, prosecuting, told Swansea Crown Court that in October 2024 the defendant's Snapchat account, under the name Dillwyn Richards, began chatting with what appeared to be a 12-year-old girl from Somerset. The barrister said the child's account was actually a decoy profile being operated by police officers.
The court heard that during their chats, 'Dillwyn Richards' told the decoy he was a teenage sheep farmer from south Wales. He sent a series of sexualised messages, pictures of his erect penis, pictures of him in the shower, and videos of himself masturbating.
Charges and sentencing
The defendant also requested indecent photos from what he thought was a child, made comments about her breasts, and encouraged her to perform a sexual act on herself. John was subsequently arrested and charged.
Ashley John, of Derwydd Avenue, Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen, had previously pleaded guilty to attempted sexual communications with a child, attempting to cause a child under 13 to engage in a sexual act, and attempting to cause a child to watch a sexual act when he appeared in the dock for sentencing.
With discounts for his guilty pleas, John was sentenced to three years and 10 months in prison. The defendant will serve up to half the sentence in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community.
Police warning after sentencing
Speaking after the sentencing, South Wales Police detective inspector Hannah Millership said: "This sentence reflects the serious risk that sexual communication poses to children and their safety and wellbeing. We will continue to pursue those who seek to exploit children online and take action to protect vulnerable young people."
