EX-LLANFAIR MAN FACES JUDGE OVER SEX CHAT WITH '12-YEAR-OLD'
A married father who shared sexually-explicit social media messages with a '12-year-old girl' – who turned out to be undercover police officer – has been described as “manipulative and predatory” by a court.Simon Paul Griffiths, 48, formerly of Llanfair Caereinion, admitted engaging in sexual communication with a child when he appeared at Welshpool Magistrates' Court last month.
He appeared in court for sentencing on February 1, but was told that the seriousness of the matters means the sentence must in fact be passed at crown court.
Griffiths was told by the chair of the Magistrates’ Bench: “This is a very serious matter.
This particular incident didn’t happen as a one-off incident, it happened over four weeks.
It was manipulative and predatory, rather than impulsive.
It was deliberate.
Therefore, we don’t feel our powers are sufficient and we will send the matter to Mold Crown Court.” Griffiths, now of Codsall, Wolverhampton, is expected to be sentenced on February 15.
During mitigation, defence solicitor Owain Jones said: “He is ashamed, embarrassed and takes full responsibility.
He has taken the earliest opportunity to plead guilty.
“He has never been in trouble before.
“As a result of his plea, his life has changed for the worse, and he’s moved away from the area.” The court heard that the 48-year-old described the girl as a "stunner" and asked about her previous sexual experience.
Prosecutor Helen Tench said that within the first few sentences of a conversation on October 27, 2020, the decoy told him that she was 12 years old.
Griffiths then asked the decoy to describe her appearance and to send a picture of herself before switching to another social media platform to continue the conversation.
Mrs Tench told the court: "On Instagram, he described the girl as a stunner and if she was asked out often and how far she went with her last boyfriend.
He then asks about her previous sexual experience.” He was arrested at his home in December 2020, and his phone and laptop were seized by police.
