Record details
Lee Martin, 37, of Wern Terrace, Port Tennant, Swansea, was jailed for 22 months after pleading guilty to breaching an indefinite sexual offences prevention order (SOPO).
The order, imposed in 2013, prohibited unsupervised contact with children without the consent of parents aware of his history. In October, while living in Port Tennant, Martin used his pet dog to initiate contact with a young girl in the community. The interaction was recorded on a video doorbell. The girl’s mother grew suspicious, searched online, discovered his convictions, and reported the matter to police.
Officers attended Martin’s home at 10.43am the following day. He answered the door naked from the waist down, denied having contact with children, and claimed youngsters kept knocking on his door. He was arrested and later gave a prepared statement denying the allegations at Swansea Central police station.
In a statement read to Swansea Crown Court, the mother said she felt “physically sick” upon learning of Martin’s past. She now restricts her children from leaving the house and said they are reluctant to speak to people in public. She felt her daughter had been groomed.
Martin has 42 previous convictions, including violence, harassment, public disorder, and sexual offences. In May 2010 he received a suspended sentence for 17 counts of possessing indecent images of children. In December 2013 he was jailed for four years for engaging in sexual activity with a child, witness intimidation, and battery. That case involved befriending a schoolgirl on Facebook, grooming her (including by allowing her to play with his dog), and engaging in sexual activity with her. He was also made subject to the lifelong SOPO.
In mitigation, Megan Williams said Martin experienced adverse childhood experiences, spent his teenage years in the care system, and struggles to form friendships, particularly with people his own age. His convictions have limited employment and volunteering opportunities. He had moved from Port Talbot to Port Tennant to be nearer his mother, his main source of support, but she has since relocated for her own safety after his history became known locally.
Judge Catherine Richards told Martin he had used his pet to “groom” the young girl, whose family was unaware of his past. She said his actions caused “very real distress” to the mother and had curtailed the freedom of her children. Although the sentence could have been suspended, the judge said the offending was so serious that only immediate custody was justified.
Martin was sentenced to 22 months’ imprisonment.
