CARL MARTIN PONTARDAWE PAEDOPHILE SENTENCED FOR CHILD SEX OFFENCE PLOT

A man identified as Carl Martin has been sentenced to prison after attempting to arrange a disturbing meeting with a mother he falsely believed was offering her young children, including a 10-month-old baby, for sexual purposes. The incident took place in Pontardawe, a town within Neath Port Talbot, where Martin, aged 36 and residing on Cilmaengwyn Road, engaged in online conversations with an undercover police officer posing as the mother.

According to court proceedings at Swansea Crown Court, Martin was found guilty of two serious offences related to the facilitation of child sexual abuse. The court heard that Martin had created a fake profile on a social networking site, employing false names and various techniques to browse the internet anonymously. His goal was to initiate contact with what he believed was a single mother seeking assistance, but in reality, he was communicating with an undercover officer.

Throughout their online exchanges, Martin explicitly expressed his desire to engage in sexual activities with the children he believed were involved. He specifically mentioned wanting to meet the mother and her children, which included a seven-year-old and a 10-month-old baby. Despite his claims during the trial that he had no intention of meeting the children for sexual purposes and that his intentions were to help the woman because she was a single mother, the jury was unconvinced.

Judge Geraint Walters, presiding over the case, described Martin’s account to the court as “fanciful” and “plainly untruthful.” He emphasized the disturbing nature of the case, noting that one of the children’s ages was “disturbingly young,” which served as an aggravating factor in the sentencing.

Addressing Martin directly as he sat in the dock, Judge Walters stated, “You didn’t by chance come across this individual, it was what you were looking for. You kept seeking to arrange a meeting and wanted the mother to give you an idea of how far she would permit you to go.” The judge further remarked that it was his view Martin “would have been prepared to go as far as that mother would allow you to.”

Following the guilty verdict on August 1, Martin was sentenced to three years in prison on each of the two counts, with both sentences to run concurrently. Additionally, he was ordered to be placed on the sex offenders' register for life, reflecting the severity of his actions and the threat he posed to children in the community of Pontardawe and beyond.