Chris Williams, 40, was jailed for 28 months after he was caught with 103 indecent images of children, including 41 of Category A showing the most extreme kinds of child sex abuse
A man swiped photos of a schoolgirl from her mum’s Facebook page and forwarded to send to a paedophile in the US, a court was told. Chris Williams, 40, engaged in explicit online chats with the man in San Francisco, during which they discussed child sexual abuse and swapped indecent snaps of young girls they’d covertly captured.
Jailing Williams for 28 months, a judge at Swansea Crown Court described his sexual interest in young children as “deeply unhealthy and degenerate”, adding that his crimes should be a source of “undying shame”.
Prosecutor Joseph Hocquard told the court that Williams was caught on September 23 last year, after police visited his home following a tip-off linking him to online criminal activity.
He said officers confiscated the defendant’s phone and discovered photos of a teenage girl in her school uniform..
Although the images weren’t indecent, Williams was arrested, reports Wales Online.
The court learned that a full search of the phone subsequently uncovered a total of 103 indecent images, including 41 of Category A depicting the most severe forms of child sexual abuse and rape. Officers also discovered 81 extreme images featuring bestiality.
The prosecutor said police managed to identify the teenager in her uniform whose photos had led to the defendant’s arrest. Officers found the photos had been downloaded from the girl’s mother’s Facebook page without her awareness.
Williams’ mobile also revealed extensive conversations on the Telegram app between the defendant – who identified himself as “Welsh Guy” – and a man named Ben in San Francisco.
During the exchanges, the duo discussed in “graphic detail” the types of child sexual abuse they wished to partake in. They also shared indecent images of young girls they had captured, along with videos of themselves masturbating.
The court was told that Williams also urged his American contact to sexually assault his daughter while she slept, suggesting he administer drugs to keep her unconscious and expressing his desire to participate in the abuse. The defendant also sent the man in San Francisco Facebook photos of the teenager in her school uniform.
Chris Williams, from Waun Wen, Cwmavon, Afan Valley, had previously admitted to three counts of possessing indecent images of Categories A, B, and C, distributing indecent images of Category A, taking indecent images of Category C and possessing extreme images when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. He had no prior convictions.
Andrew Evans, representing Williams, said that a pre-sentence report had been unable to propose an alternative to immediate imprisonment, expressing hope that his client would engage with suitable agencies to gain some understanding of the motivations behind his criminal behaviour.
The barrister added that his client was worried about the consequences of his conviction on his children and his now ex-partner.
Judge Huw Rees said that in his pre-sentence report the defendant rejected having any sexual attraction to children but said “that is wholly false, and I reject it entirely”.
He informed Williams that he possessed a “deeply unhealthy and degenerate” sexual fascination with young children and said his offending should be to his “undying shame”.
With one-third reductions for his guilty pleas Williams was jailed for 28 months. He will serve half the sentence behind bars before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community.
The defendant will be registered as a sex offender for ten years, and was made subject to a sexual harm prevention order for the same length of time.
If you or somebody you know has been affected by this story, contact Victim Support for free, confidential advice on 08 08 16 89 111 or visit their website, http://www.victimsupport.org.uk.