A paedophile sent someone he believed to be a 13-year-old girl a photo of his erect penis which he had taken in the the toilets at work, a court has heard. In reality Carl Williams had sent the image to a member of a so-called paedophile hunter group who was running a decoy Facebook page. The group subsequently went to the defendant's house on Boxing Day to confront him.
Williams has a previous conviction for engaging in sexual activity with a child and a judge said he could properly be considered a dangerous offender requiring an extended sentence. Hannah George, prosecuting, told Swansea Crown Court that in late December last year Williams began communicating with a Facebook profile purporting to be that of a 13-year-old girl though in fact the account was a decoy being run by an adult. The defendant began by saying he was bored and wanted to chat about Christmas but the conversation quickly turned sexual with Williams asking the girl if she was feeling "horny" and was "up for sexting". The prosecutor said Williams then started asking for "naughty" topless photos and pictures of the girl in the shower before sending her a photo of his erect penis. The conversation then moved to the messaging service WhatsApp where the defendant started telling the girl he would "be there" for her and began asking for reassurance that she liked him. Williams continued to ask the girl to send him pictures.
The court heard that on Boxing Day members of the group which had been running the decoy account went to the defendant's house to confront him. The police were called and after officers reviewed the messages which had been exchanged they arrested Williams and seized his electronic devices. In his subsequent interview Williams, who turns 30 on Monday, told the officers he could not masturbate as he was unable to achieve an erection though it later emerged that a photo of his erect penis which he had sent to the decoy had been taken in the toilets where he worked.
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Carl Williams, of Bardsey Avenue, Blaenymaes, Swansea, had previously pleaded guilty to attempting to incite a girl to engage in sexual activity when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. He has one previous conviction for one offence which was engaging in sexual activity with a 13-year-old girl for which he was given a three-year prison sentence for at Mold Crown Court in 2014.
Georgia Donohue, for Williams, said the best mitigation the defendant had was his guilty plea. She said the defendant had been brought up in care from the age of five and had "intellectual challenges".
Judge Geraint Walters told Williams there had been an element of manipulation in some of his behaviour. The judge said the very thorough pre-sentence report into Williams made "disturbing reading" with the defendant explaining the offending by saying he was lonely and wanted a girlfriend. He noted Williams was categorised as posing a very real threat even when being managed in the community by the police and said it appeared the defendant still viewed the child involved in his previous offending as a "potential partner". The judge said he had come to the conclusion Williams should be regarded as a dangerous offender within the meaning of the relevant legislation and an extended sentence was therefore necessary. Williams was given an extended 10-year sentence comprising three years in prison followed by a seven-year extended licence period. South Wales Police declined to release a custody photograph of the defendant.
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