Locations
Meadow Way, Waterston, Pembrokeshire, SA73
Description
A CONVICTED paedophile set up a Snapchat account and pretended to be a teenager to encourage children to share explicit images of themselves.
Terry Hughes was ordered to register as a sex offender in 2020 for engaging in sexual communication with a child. He was sentenced for the same offence in June 2022, before appearing again later that year for possession of indecent, prohibited, and extreme pornographic images.
He was also made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order.
Prosecutor Alycia Carpanini told Swansea Crown Court that Dyfed-Powys Police attended Hughes’ Waterston home on June 25 after receiving intelligence that his IP address was linked to a Snapchat account involved in online child sex offences.
Hughes initially denied having a device, but then handed officers an unregistered phone and gave them the PIN.
Officers found a Snapchat account on the phone claiming to be a 15-year-old boy, and the account had set up a group encouraging teenagers to post indecent images.
Two accounts were also found on Session – an encrypted instant messaging app where users remain anonymous.
One of the accounts – in the name ‘Terry Teacher’ – had been communicating with accounts which claimed to be children, as well as with other adults who had a sexual interest in children.
During conversations between June 11 and 14, Hughes asked for sexual pictures from an user who said they were a teenage girl. He also sent pictures of himself naked and a video of himself masturbating.
In the early hours of June 25, he asked a user claiming to be a 10-year-old child for indecent images and sent naked images of himself. The user sent an image of a young child “in a state of undress”, however Ms Carpanini said this did not meet the criteria as an indecent image.
Hughes had also been speaking with a man with a young child, and encouraged him to send indecent images of his son.
The court heard Hughes could only be charged with attempted sexual communication with a child because the real age of the other account holders could not be identified.
Hughes, of Meadow Way, made full admissions in interview, and pleaded guilty to two offences of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child, attempting to cause a child to watch sexual activity, making a Category C indecent images, and breaching of a sexual harm prevention order.
The court heard all of 41-year-old Hughes’ nine previous offences were relating to child sexual offences.
David Singh, appearing for Hughes, acknowledged the mitigation available is this case was “limited”.
“There’s a recognition that he does have a real problem that has to be addressed,” he said.
“Mr Hughes deeply regrets his behaviour. He is ashamed.”
Judge Geraint Walters sentenced Hughes to a total of two years imprisonment.
The defendant must register as a sex offender for 10 years, and was made the subject of a new sexual harm prevention order for the same period.