MAN WHO KILLED CYCLIST EXPOSED AS PAEDOPHILE
An ex-lorry driver who killed a cyclist in 2015 has been jailed for sending sexual text messages to decoys who he thought were underage girls.Mike Jones, then known as Mark Baker, knocked down and killed a cyclist 11 years ago, for which he was given a suspended sentence at Shrewsbury Crown Court.
His counsel told a sentencing hearing at Swansea Crown Court on March 16 that the incident had led to him having depression with "nothing in his life apart from the internet to communicate with people".
Now Jones has been jailed after pleading guilty to two counts of attempting to engage in sexual communications with a child and two counts of breaching a sexual harm prevention order.
That order was placed on him because in April 2024 he was also sentenced to 16 months in prison suspended for 24 months at Swansea Crown Court for three counts of attempting to engage in sexual communications with a child.
Dean Pulling, prosecuting, told court that the new offences came about when Jones, who called himself "Ugly Duckling" online, engaged in sexual conversations and asked for underwear pictures from who he thought were 14-year-old girls.
In reality, the former lorry driver was communicating with adults operating decoy social media accounts.
Mr Pulling said that in February Jones contacted the profiles of what appeared to be two 14-year-old girls on social media sites Mingle and Just Say Hi.
He said these profiles were decoy accounts "operated by people who call themselves paedophile hunters".
The court heard that Jones gave the decoys his mobile number and began chatting with them even after being told their ages.
He asked the "girls" sexual questions, requested photographs including pictures of them in their underwear, and told them how attractive they were.
He also asked one if they liked older men and said he could "kiss her lips all day".
Both the adults then passed his details to a group called Drank Dragons, and on February 20, he was confronted at his home.
The police were called and he was arrested, answering "no comment" to all questions.
The court heard that the offending in 2024 was "almost identical" to earlier conduct, with Jones using a false name and engaging in highly sexualised conversations with decoys he believed to be girls aged 12, 13, and 14 on Mingle.
On that occasion, he was also subject to a 10-year sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) and added to the sex offenders' register for the same period.
Giles Hayes, representing Jones, said that the defendant had begun to suffer mental health issues after his earlier conviction and the guilt of causing the death of a cyclist "weighed very heavily upon him".
He explained that Jones started to struggle psychologically after his 2024 Swansea conviction, suffering from low self-esteem, boredom, and depression.
Since then, he has been under four probation officers and has been unable to complete the Horizon sex offenders course.
His lawyer noted that little had been done to address his underlying issues.
Recorder Powell told Jones he had been given a chance with a suspended sentence in 2024 but had not learned his lesson, emphasizing that the offences were "almost identical" and that he had learned nothing.
Jones, of Darren Road, Briton Ferry, received a 24-month prison sentence, with six months of an earlier suspended sentence activated to run consecutively, totaling 30 months.
He will serve up to half of this in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community.
