When a 60-year-old Laugharne man was shown photographs on Whatsapp of a 14-year-old boy who he had arranged to meet for sexual purposes, his response was ‘Omg. So hot. You’re a super handsome guy’.
William Jones then drove to a pre-arranged meeting point in Carmarthenshire, having told the child that he was equipped with ‘lubricants and condoms’.
“We’ll take it easy’, he told the boy ahead of their meeting on March 9, 2021.
“We’ll kiss, suck, rub, have central body contact, and more.”
This week Jones, of The Grist, Laugharne appeared before Swansea Crown Court where he was sentenced for attempting to meet a 14-year-old boy and of attempting to engage in sexual activity with him.
The offences took place after Jones joined a website intended for people who were aged 22 or over.
But an undercover police officer had joined the website with the intention of making contact with Jones. Once they began communicating, the decoy officer immediately told the defendant that he was 14. But instead of deterring him, Jones continued communicating with the child.
He asked the boy to send him some photographs of himself via Whatsapp, so the officer sent him photographs of an age-related boy.
The Crown said that when the defendant saw the pictures, he wrote ‘Omg. So hot and super-handsome guy’.
“The boy asked him if he was ok about the fact that he was 14, and Jones replied ‘Cool,'” said Dean Pullen, KC, for the Crown.
When the boy asked him what they would be doing, Jones replied, ‘Loving. kissing, rubbing, ******* and more.”
At around 7pm on March 9, Jones drove his silver Volkswagen to the pre-arranged address near Cross Hands in Carmarthenshire where he was approached and subsequently detained by police officers.
Jones, who has no previous convictions, was represented in court by Miss Hannah George, KC.
“His remorse is palpable and overwhelming,” she said., “He took an early retirement to devote much time to caring for his mother who had dementia, but she passed away three years ago.
“This left a significant void in his life that resulted in isolation and loneliness.”
Miss George went on to say that a pre-sentence report prepared by the Probation Service stated that Jones is now making considerable efforts to address his offences.
“He is seriously making obligations to make sure that he doesn’t re-offend in the future and there is a realistic prospect of rehabilitation,” she said.
Jones was sentenced to ten months in custody suspended for two years.
He must carry out 20 rehabilitation activity requirement days which will include the Maps For Change intervention, and he was made subject to a sexual harm prevention order for ten years. A deprivation order was made for his mobile phone.
