Locations
Swallow Way, Newport, NP10
Description
A paedophile was caught with a childlike sex doll and baby rape videos after police acted on a tip-off.
Scott Mullen, 32, of Swallow Way, Duffryn, Newport, was handed an eight-year extended sentence after being classified as a dangerous offender at Swansea Crown Court.
Prosecutor Joshua Scouller said Mullen initially admitted downloading 136 child abuse images and films between 14 July and 18 August 2024 — 23 at category A, 18 at category B and 95 at category C.
He later tried to vacate his guilty pleas and, representing himself, submitted a forged report from a legitimate digital investigations firm. Using the company’s logo, he claimed it suggested he might be innocent and had not downloaded the material deliberately.
The deception was uncovered and he pleaded guilty last June to perverting the course of justice.
Mullen was already a convicted sex offender, having received a community order in 2017 for possessing indecent images of children.
His barrister Jon Tarrant said in mitigation:
“The defendant does accept that there are issues here.”
Judge Geraint Walters told Mullen of the images: “These are real children being abused by sick adults.”
He added that the pre-sentence report concluded Mullen was a dangerous offender who presented a high risk of committing further serious offences, describing his attempt to deceive the court as “planned and sophisticated”.
Mullen was jailed for three years plus an extended licence period of five years. He must register as a sex offender for life and was made subject to a sexual harm prevention order for life.