STUART CROMWELL CAUGHT WITH CHILD ABUSE IMAGES IN CWMGORS AND CLYDACH

In January 2018, a disturbing case emerged involving Stuart Cromwell, a 63-year-old man from Cwmgors, who was found to possess a significant collection of illegal images depicting the abuse of teenage girls. The investigation revealed that Cromwell had an unhealthy obsession with underage girls, which he acted upon by downloading and storing explicit material on his work computers.

Police executed a search warrant at Cromwell’s workplace located on the Players Industrial Estate in Clydach, where he was employed. During the raid, authorities seized multiple computer devices, and it was during this examination that they uncovered a shocking cache of over 220 films and photographs of young girls being exploited. The Swansea Crown Court was informed that this was not Cromwell’s first encounter with such material, as he had previously been convicted of similar offenses.

When questioned, Cromwell admitted that he had downloaded images of girls aged between 13 and 16 for his own sexual gratification. He claimed that the material was stored on his work computers, and he denied any such content being present on his personal devices at home. However, a thorough forensic analysis of the seized equipment from his workplace revealed a disturbing collection: 153 images and videos classified as Category A, which is considered the most severe and explicit, along with 46 Category B and 29 Category C images and videos. Importantly, investigators found no evidence of similar material on Cromwell’s home computers.

During his police interview, Cromwell acknowledged his actions, stating that he had downloaded the images for self-gratification. His criminal record included previous convictions, and he had been subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) following his earlier offenses. Despite completing a sex offenders’ program after his last conviction, authorities noted that this intervention had evidently failed to prevent his reoffending.

In court, Cromwell, who resides at Heol y Gors in Cwmgors, pleaded guilty to multiple charges: six counts of making indecent photographs of children, six counts of possessing such images, and breaching the SHPO. His previous conviction in 2013 involved similar offenses, which had resulted in a suspended sentence. The court was told that his offending spanned over a period of approximately 12 years.

Sentencing was handed down with the judge imposing a total of two years in prison. Cromwell received two years for the Category A offenses, 18 months for Category B, 16 months for Category C, and 18 months for breaching the SHPO. All sentences were ordered to run concurrently, meaning he would serve the full two-year term. Additionally, Cromwell was subjected to a 10-year SHPO and was ordered to register as a sex offender for the same duration, ensuring ongoing monitoring of his activities and restrictions to protect the public from further harm.