ROBERT GIDDINGS FROM WESTON-SUPER-MARE AND RHYL SENTENCED FOR ONLINE SEX OFFENSES INVOLVING A 12-YEAR-OLD GIRL

In a case that has sent shockwaves through the communities of Rhyl in Denbighshire and Weston-super-Mare in North Somerset, Robert Giddings, a 51-year-old man from Weston-super-Mare, was sentenced to two years in prison at Mold Crown Court for heinous online sexual offenses involving a young girl from Rhyl.

Giddings, an accountant and a divorced father of four, pleaded guilty to charges of inciting a 12-year-old girl to perform sexual acts on a webcam. The disturbing case unfolded over the course of a week, during which a vigilant mother from Rhyl took it upon herself to assist police in capturing the predator. Initially, Giddings had posed as a 15-year-old girl online, attempting to groom her through chat and webcam interactions.

The mother recounted her distress and the steps she took to protect her daughter. She emphasized the importance of supervision when children are online, warning parents against leaving children unsupervised on computers and against allowing them to have private access in their bedrooms. "Don’t ignore the fact that children are on computers," she said. "Don’t let them have computers in their own bedrooms because you don’t know who they are talking to."

Her suspicions were confirmed when her daughter confided in her about the inappropriate conversations and encounters with Giddings. The mother revealed that Giddings had pretended to be a 15-year-old girl but then exposed himself via webcam, which enraged her. "I was fuming — I thought how could somebody do this to a 12-year-old girl?" she said. Acting swiftly, she contacted the police, providing them with all the details of her daughter’s interactions and the suspicious online activity.

With police cooperation, the mother continued to engage with Giddings online, maintaining communication over the course of a week. She even used an old mobile phone to speak with him directly, further entrapment efforts that proved crucial in gathering evidence. During these interactions, she described feeling overwhelmed and emotional, especially because Giddings believed he was speaking to her daughter. "A lot of the time I did break down because he was talking to me even though he thought I was my 12-year-old daughter," she explained. "So to be honest, what he was actually asking me was aimed at my daughter, and it was very emotional."

The traumatic experience left lasting scars on both the mother and her daughter. The young girl became increasingly anxious, suffering nightmares and fearing that Giddings might be following her in public. The mother expressed relief that her daughter had the courage to come forward and seek help promptly. "She was having nightmares, and if we went out in public places, she kept thinking he was following her," she said. Despite her fears, she praised her daughter’s awareness and bravery in reporting the incident.

Giddings also admitted to engaging in sexual acts in the presence of a child, a charge that further underscored the severity of his crimes. As part of his sentence, he will be registered as a sex offender for the next ten years and is prohibited from contacting or associating with any child under the age of 16, except for his own children and grandchildren. An earlier court hearing revealed that Giddings had been communicating with numerous young girls and older women via the internet, often under various female pseudonyms and engaging in content related to sexual activity.

Judge John Rogers delivered the sentence, stating that prison was "inevitable to punish you and to deter others." He acknowledged Giddings’s previous good character and low risk of reoffending, but emphasized the need for justice and public safety. The mother, who described the sentence as "fantastic," expressed her hope to educate others about the dangers lurking in online chatrooms. She also expressed her intention to visit schools to raise awareness about online safety and the risks posed by predators like Giddings.