PAUL JONES

MONMOUTH MAN SENTENCED FOR ONLINE CHILD SEXUAL EXPLOITATION

A man named Paul Jones, aged 27 and residing in Monmouth, engaged in a disturbing online incident where he believed he was interacting with a 12-year-old girl named Neve.

The offender started communication in a chatroom and later continued conversations over Snapchat, where he falsely claimed to be 16 years old and asked her if she liked vampires.

Despite being informed that the girl was only 12 and attending school, Jones persisted with sexualized conversations, asking her if she wanted to be a vampire and requesting photos.

During the exchange, he offered a substantial sum of money—initially £10,000, then increased to £100,000—for her to perform a sexual act and suggested they could meet secretly.

When told she was too young to travel to Wales, Jones indicated he would come to her.

He was arrested at his workplace on February 15 after police seized his phone, which contained evidence linking to the Snapchat account involved.

Jones initially denied guilt but pleaded guilty to attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activities and attempting to communicate sexually with a child.

In court, he was sentenced to a 36-month community order, including a programme requirement, 20 days of rehabilitation activities, and 200 hours of unpaid work.

Additionally, he was placed under a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and sex offender notification requirements for five years.