CEREDIGION MAN SENTENCED FOR GROOMING AND DISTRIBUTION OF CHILD PORNOGRAPHY
Robin Edwards Jones, aged 49 and previously residing in Lampeter, Ceredigion, was charged with multiple serious online sexual offences.His offending began in November 2015 when he established contact with a teenage girl online and entered into an inappropriate relationship, during which he shared explicit images of her.
The relationship was terminated in April 2016 after her father discovered the links and notified the police.
However, approximately a year later, Jones located her at her new job, circulated her indecent images to her employer, and uploaded them to adult websites.
Additionally, he crafted personal profiles on these sites, including links to her Facebook account, further victimizing her.
Detective Sergeant Steve Barry from Dyfed-Powys Police described Jones as a ‘predatory offender’ who exploited young girls online to obtain indecent images for his own gratification and dominance.
The investigation revealed that Jones had created a fake email account through which he sent the victim’s explicit images to her employer in an attempt to get her dismissed.
The images were taken during their previous relationship, and the victim was deeply distressed upon discovering their online circulation.
Authorities examined Jones’s digital devices, uncovering over 500 indecent images of various victims, including 52 in the most serious category, along with 162 private images shared without consent.
The investigation also uncovered exchanges of sexual messages between Jones and a 14-year-old girl in the United States, with relationships beginning when she was only 12 years old.
Initially maintaining innocence, Jones admitted to the charges when the trial commenced.
He was sentenced to 27 months in prison, required to register as a sex offender for a decade, and issued with a restraining order to prevent contact with the victim.
Police linked his email address to his home address, seized multiple devices, and conducted searches, all of which supported the prosecution’s case.
