SEX OFFENDER SENT EXPLICIT MESSAGE TO GIRL
An individual deemed ‘undeterable’ has received a prison sentence after engaging in online communication with someone he believed to be a 13-year-old girl, during which he sent an explicit image of his penis.Prosecutor Regan Walters outlined at Swansea Crown Court that Daniel Owens reached out to what he thought was a young girl via an online messaging platform on October 6.
In reality, the account was a decoy.
Owens’s profile stated: “Here to have some fun and spread my seed,” and displayed a topless photo of himself.
He asked the decoy to continue their conversation on WhatsApp or Snapchat.
The decoy, who was actually an undercover account, claimed to be 13 years old.
Owens then provided his phone number and urged her to message him on WhatsApp.
According to Mr.
Walters, Owens made three video calls and one phone call to verify her identity as a minor.
The communication became sexual in nature when Owens sent a message asking, “Would you like to see it though,” accompanied by a photo of his penis.
He also sought sexual images from the decoy and said he would show her himself ejaculating.
After the incident was reported, South Wales Police visited Owens’s home on November 1, and arrested him.
Authorities seized his phone, laptop, PlayStation console, and a telescopic baton.
Owens admitted to having sole access to his devices and claimed ignorance of any legal prohibition against possessing a telescopic baton.
It was revealed that Owens was a registered sex offender and had been subject to a sexual harm prevention order since 2016 following a previous sexual assault conviction.
The 29-year-old from Fford Cambria, Pontarddulais, pleaded guilty to charges including attempted sexual communication with a minor, causing alarm or distress through a genital photograph, breaching a sexual harm prevention order, and possessing an offensive weapon in private.
Representing Owens, Dean Pulling acknowledged that the defendant had repeatedly violated the sexual harm prevention order and that the court had little choice but to impose immediate custody.
Pulling noted that Owens had pleaded guilty promptly, supplied his PIN to officers, and that the messaging incidents occurred within a single day.
He also mentioned that Owens was unaware that possessing a telescopic baton was illegal.
Judge Paul Thomas KC questioned Owens’s deterrability, stating, “He continues to commit offences.” Addressing the defendant directly, the judge remarked that Owens had previously been sentenced three times for breaching the order, and that all previous chances and sentences had failed to induce change.
Ultimately, Owens was sentenced to 18 months in prison, plus a two-year extended licence.
He appeared in court again on February 17, where it was confirmed he must register as a sex offender for life.
