PAEDOPHILE JAILED AFTER SHARING CHILD ABUSE IMAGES IN ONLINE GROUP
A man aged 35 from Pontypool has been sentenced to five years in prison after he was found guilty of sharing videos of child abuse with members of an online group.Matthew Roberts, who resides in Griffithstown, was discovered to have stored hundreds of illegal images, among which 372 were classified as the most severe category.
The police uncovered the content following an incident where Roberts was caught trying to arrange a meeting with an individual he believed to be a 12-year-old girl, but who was actually an undercover officer.
Judge Shomon Khan addressed the court at Cardiff Crown Court, stating, “You have revealed yourself as a dedicated paedophile through your offending behavior.
You were involved in a network actively sharing these disturbing images.” The court also heard that Roberts had previously been given a suspended sentence for child sex offences.
His defence lawyer, Thomas Stanway, explained that Roberts had become isolated after his wife filed for divorce upon his return from the United States.
"He does now accept that he must tackle at his demons," Mr.
Stanway told the court.
Roberts admitted to multiple crimes, including distributing indecent images of children and attempting to communicate sexually with a minor.
He will be subject to lifelong sex offender registration.
