HOLYWELL SEX OFFENDER JAILED AFTER EXPLOITING DECOY CHILDREN ONLINE
A registered sex offender from Flintshire, Steven Benjamin Jones of High Street in Holywell, was sentenced at Mold Crown Court after admitting 16 counts of sexual offences.These included attempting to communicate with a child in a sexual manner and trying to engage young girls in sexual activity.
Additionally, Jones was found to have distributed and obtained indecent images of children.
The court heard that these actions breached a previously imposed sexual harm prevention order (SHPO).
Jones was convicted in 2018 for similar crimes which resulted in a SHPO and a 14-month imprisonment.
During 2020, he was approached by a vigilante group posing as a child to catch predators.
A fake social media profile under the pseudonym 'Tegan', claiming to be nine years old, started messaging Jones on May 10.
Jones lied about his age, initially claiming to be 30, and expressed that her age was 'perfect' for him.
He asked her to keep their conversations secret and sent indecent images of his genitals, along with videos involving children.
Another decoy, a 14-year-old girl, also contacted him; he quickly made sexual advances, demanded pictures of her, and expressed sexual fantasies involving her and her younger sister, who was claimed to be 10.
The messages, images, and videos he sent were handed over to North Wales Police.
Jones was arrested at his workplace on May 20 and admitted to all offences during police interviews.
He also confessed to having a secret iPhone that he did not report, which contained dozens of indecent images of female children, with ages ranging from 16 to around three years old.
His internet search history showed requests for child abuse images and videos, and evidence of sharing such content.
After a second arrest in October, Jones continued to contact decoy children through social media, including another undercover police operation in December where he made sexually explicit comments to an officer posing as a 13-year-old girl named 'Amy'.
During sentencing, Judge Nicola Jones imposed a four-year prison sentence, emphasizing the seriousness and escalation of his crimes.
She created an indefinite SHPO banning interaction with girls under 16 and ordered the destruction of all devices containing indecent images.
The judge expressed her concern over his repeated offending despite previous convictions and mitigations presented by his defense that he wished to change and stop the cycle of behavior.
