Kingsley Perera 63

Description

Kingsley Perera, registered sex offender and former children’s entertainer, jailed for hiding devices.

A former children’s entertainer and registered sex offender was jailed after lying to police about undeclared devices, only to be caught when one started “buzzing” in a kitchen drawer.

Kingsley Perera, 63, of Baywood Avenue, West Cross, Swansea, has been subject to a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) since December 2020 following his conviction for possessing indecent images of children. The order requires him to notify police of any internet-enabled or image-storing devices.

On the morning of 5 May, police made a routine unannounced visit to his home. Perera denied having any unregistered devices. Officers then found a tablet in a bedroom (which he claimed belonged to a friend), a digital camera in the kitchen (which he said was his mother’s), and a mobile phone after hearing a “buzzing” noise from a dresser drawer.

The friend he named later told police he had no knowledge of the tablet and had not visited the property for more than a year.

Perera had previously pleaded guilty to three counts of breaching the SHPO. At Swansea Crown Court he applied to vacate those pleas, claiming the devices were not his and citing memory issues. Judge Huw Rees refused the application.

Prosecuting, Regan Walters told the court that probation officers were concerned about Perera’s “ongoing pattern of secrecy,” his lack of insight into his offending, and his refusal to take responsibility.

Perera has eight previous convictions for 23 offences. In December 2020 he was sentenced to 10 months in prison and given a 10-year SHPO after being convicted of possessing almost 4,000 indecent images of children, including more than 600 Category A images. At that trial he had denied downloading them and blamed others, including people he claimed to help through charitable work. The trial judge noted the particular concern that Perera had worked as a children’s entertainer and clown while knowing he had a sexual interest in children.

In April 2022 he received a suspended sentence for failing to notify police of a move to Port Talbot. Three months later he was jailed for 15 months after being caught with another secret phone.

Judge Rees sentenced Perera to 16 months in prison (with one-third credit for his guilty pleas). He will serve half in custody before release on licence. The SHPO remains in force.