MARK TOMLINSON FROM GERYMANWYDD FACES JAIL AFTER CHILD PORNOGRAPHY CASE IN SWANSEA

In April 2018, a serious case unfolded involving Mark Tomlinson, a 51-year-old resident of Gerymanwydd on High Street, Ammanford. The incident centered around allegations of possessing indecent images of children and breaching a court-imposed Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO).

Tomlinson was scheduled to face sentencing at Swansea Crown Court before Judge Paul Thomas. The proceedings revealed that Tomlinson had admitted to possessing a total of 21 indecent images depicting children aged between seven and 12 years old. These images were discovered during police investigations, which also uncovered that he had violated the terms of a previous SHPO issued in December 2016, a court order designed to restrict his access to child abuse material.

The case took a more alarming turn when it was revealed that Tomlinson had previously appeared in a magistrates’ court with a mobile phone containing 110 indecent images. Prosecutor Sophie Hill explained that detectives had conducted a routine visit to Tomlinson’s residence on August 15 of the previous year. During this visit, they requested access to his computers for examination. The investigation uncovered that Tomlinson had been actively searching the internet for images of 'barely legal' minors, a term often used to describe images of young teenagers that are close to the legal age but still considered inappropriate.

Further scrutiny revealed that just days before the police visit, Tomlinson had performed a 'factory reset' on his computer, effectively wiping out previous search history and files. This action raised suspicions among investigators, especially since the reset appeared to be an attempt to conceal his online activities. Tomlinson claimed that he performed the reset because he enjoyed playing computer games, which he said had slowed down his device, and that the reset was simply to improve performance.

However, Judge Thomas was skeptical of this explanation. He stated that the computer had already been restored to its original factory settings by the shop where Tomlinson purchased it, and he did not believe Tomlinson’s account. The judge expressed concern that the real motive behind the reset was to hide evidence of his illicit activities.

Judge Thomas announced that the sentencing would take place on April 21. He indicated that Tomlinson could present evidence at that hearing to support his claims of innocence. If he failed to do so convincingly, the judge warned, the court would proceed with a sentence based on the evidence of prior offences, which could include a prison term of up to two years. Despite the serious nature of the case, Judge Thomas granted Tomlinson bail until the sentencing date, but he issued a stern warning that Tomlinson had narrowly avoided immediate custody, stating he had come 'within the skin of your teeth' to being remanded in custody right away.