DARRAN HARKINS OF GLYN CEIRIOG SENTENCED IN MOULD FOR ONLINE CHILD SEX OFFENCES

Darren Harkins, residing on High Street in Glyn Ceiriog, appeared in Mold Crown Court on Thursday to face serious charges related to online child sexual exploitation. The 48-year-old was accused of attempting to incite a girl under the age of 13 to engage in penetrative sexual activity.

Harkins believed he was communicating with a depraved mother offering her nine-year-old daughter for abuse, but in reality, he was talking to an undercover police officer. Prosecutor Simon Rogers explained that during the inquiry, it became clear that there was no actual child at risk, as Harkins had been identified through online surveillance by authorities.

The investigation began after officers from the South West Regional Organised Crime Unit collaborated with online platforms to identify individuals expressing interest in children. Harkins had established his own online discussion forum, where he openly discussed his disturbing desires. He described himself as "looking for the impossible" and sought "genuine family fun."

In July 2020, an officer posing as a mother responded to Harkins's posts. Concerned about revealing their identity online, Harkins later moved the conversation to another social media platform. During their exchanges, Harkins was unconcerned about the woman offering her primary school-aged daughter for sex, stating that age was "just a number" to him. He admitted to being "turned on by incest" and sent videos of himself engaging in sexual acts, requesting that the videos be shown to the child to demonstrate "what he'd do to her."

Over the following weeks, Harkins sent more than twelve videos depicting him performing sex acts on himself and referencing the child's desire to "play" with his genitals. Prosecutor Rogers detailed that the conversations progressed towards planning a meeting at a Gloucester hotel, where Harkins suggested they could repeat these encounters regularly if the child enjoyed it.

Harkins claimed he had "never done anything like this before" and expressed fears of falling into "some sort of trap," worrying that police might arrest him upon meeting. Following the investigation, North Wales Police executed a search warrant at his Denbighshire residence in October 2020. They found his phone hidden behind a desk drawer, which was used to communicate with the undercover officer.

During the hearing, Harkins's defense solicitor, Mark Connor, stated that his client was "deeply ashamed" and fully aware of the seriousness of his actions. Connor acknowledged that a prison sentence was probably the only realistic outcome, emphasizing that Harkins was not motivated by a desire to abuse children but struggled with a sex addiction that led him to seek more extreme sexual experiences with consenting adults.

However, Judge Niclas Parry expressed concern about the danger Harkins posed to children. Although no child was harmed in this case, the judge highlighted the gravity of the conduct. He sentenced Harkins to three years and four months in prison, commenting, "You indicated by your depraved conduct that you were prepared to use a child aged only nine for sexual gratification. What makes this a particularly serious matter is that you were prepared to involve the child's equally depraved mother to assist."

The court also ordered lifelong monitoring of Harkins's online activity and banned him from having any unsupervised contact with children under 16 without the oversight of parents and social services, reflecting the severity of the case.