Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Wales Online
Wales Online
National
Philip Dewey

Paedophile sent vile messages to girl on library computer because he was 'bored'

A paedophile sent "vile" messages to a 12-year-old girl and asked if she wanted to meet up while using a computer at a public library. When asked why he sent the message and breached a court order he said he was "bored".

Lee Mills, 40, was visited at his Cardiff home on July 14 after they received information he had been contacting a young girl. The defendant had attended Cardiff Central Library and used a computer to access a "team chat".

A sentencing hearing at Newport Crown Court on Friday heard one of the messages sent by Mills to the girl read: "I know I'd touch you all over and I'd like to lick your young p****." He was arrested and taken to Cardiff Bay police station and interviewed. Mobile phones belonging to the defendant were also seized.

Read more: Hospital patient bites nurse on arm after being moved to Covid-19 ward

Mills admitted he had communicated with someone he believed to be a child. The defendant, of Brithdir Street, Cathays, later pleaded guilty to attempting to communicate with a child and breaching a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO).

Prosecutor Martha Smith-Higgins told the court that Mills was first made subject to a SHPO in 2013 for possessing and making indecent images of children. In 2015 he was further convicted of possessing indecent images and in 2018 he was convicted for possessing and distributing indecent images.

His latest conviction in March 2020 was for attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child, distribution of indecent images, and breach of a SHPO. He received a three-year jail term and was released from prison in January last year.

Defence barrister Tim Lewis said his client suffered from learning difficulties and lacked in thinking and decision-making skills. Mr Lewis added: "He said simply there's no excuse but he's bored. I said: 'You can't really commit offences because you are bored'." Upon being released from prison the barrister said Mills wished to obtain work through Remploy.

Sentencing, Judge Daniel Williams said: "You engaged in vile communications with a 12-year-old girl and asked her if she wanted to meet up." Mills was sentenced to 28 months imprisonment and was made subject to another SHPO indefinitely.

READ NEXT:

You can sign up to our regular Crime and Punishment newsletter here while this interactive tool allows you to check the latest crime statistics for your area:

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.