PHILIP M JOHNS CAUGHT IN SWANSEA CHILD SEX OFFENDER STING
A man from Swansea, Philip M Johns, has been handed a suspended prison sentence after admitting to engaging in sexually explicit communications with what he believed was a 13-year-old girl online.The incident was part of an undercover operation conducted by a civilian group dedicated to identifying suspected child sex offenders.
This group had created a fake Facebook profile, posing as a teenage girl, to lure potential offenders.
On September 23 of the previous year, Johns, aged 43 and residing on The Causeway in Swansea, sent a friend request to the decoy account.
In his initial message, he claimed to be 41 years old.
When the decoy profile revealed that the girl was only 13, Johns responded by stating that he was too old for her.
Despite this, he resumed contact several days later, leaving comments and initiating a new conversation.
The exchanges quickly took a sexual turn, with Johns asking explicit questions and sending detailed sexual messages.
The Swansea Crown Court heard that Johns described acts he wished to perform and used graphic language, including a message asking if the girl would like to engage in a sexual act.
The group behind the operation later visited Johns’ address, posing as delivery drivers.
When he opened the door, they confronted him and streamed the entire encounter live online for over an hour.
The police were called to the scene shortly after.
Following his arrest, Johns fully admitted to the police during questioning that he had attempted to incite a child to engage in penetrative sexual activity and had engaged in sexual communication with a minor.
Although he had no previous convictions for sexual offences, he had a criminal record with 14 prior convictions for 26 unrelated offences.
His legal representative, Dan Griffiths, explained that Johns had been living a largely isolated lifestyle and was heavily drinking at the time of the offences.
He also noted that Johns had since taken steps to change his behaviour.
The court was informed that Johns’ mother had suffered acts of vandalism at her property following the live-streamed confrontation.
Judge Huw Rees sentenced Johns to 20 months in prison, suspended for two years.
As part of his sentence, Johns is required to complete 150 hours of unpaid work, attend 35 days of rehabilitation activities, and participate in the Maps for Change programme, which aims to reduce reoffending.
Additionally, Johns will remain on the sex offenders register for ten years and is subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for the same duration, underscoring the seriousness of his offences and the measures taken to prevent future harm.
