'You are not going to prison today' judge tells Rhayader man with significant learning difficulties who sent sexual messages to police decoy

The 43-year-old admitted a charge of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child purporting to be under 16, between October 31 2022 and November 28 2022, when he appeared at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court on Friday.

Mr Brown also admitted attempting to engage a child, ‘Ruby’, in sexual activity when she purported to be under 16 years of age between November 2 2022 and November 28 2022.

Prosecuting, Mr Samuel Jenkins said Brown engaged with a decoy who was actually an undercover police officer on an app called Kick – he believed the decoy was a 12 year-old girl called ‘Ruby’.

Brown said he was 16 years of age.

The conversation later moved to WhatsApp and he discussed cuddling and kissing ‘Ruby’ and asked for pictures of her in her underwear and tights.

He also sent her pictures of his bare legs, his boxer shorts and him topless.

Mr Jenkins said he also asked ‘Ruby’ to masturbate on November 2 at school and in the toilets and to digitally penetrate herself. He said he was also rubbing himself.

‘Ruby’ was sent a picture of a pair of knickers on a bed and the lower half of a girl in a school uniform and Brown suggested she could touch him at the top of his legs and he would touch her.

The court was told there was also a brief audio call and a video call and Brown discussed meeting up with ‘Ruby’ and having sex with her.

Mitigating Mr John Ryan said Brown had shown remorse and he displays a lack of maturity and learning difficulties.

He said there had also been a delay of three years in bringing the case to court, with no explanation and there had been no repetition of the behaviour and Brown had engaged in voluntary work.

Mr Ryan said Brown had been exploited by adult females in the past, had a desire for companionship and there was a degree of emotional congruence with children.

He said Brown had undertaken voluntary work in the community and in a care home for adults and supported by his father. He said no indecent pictures of children were found when his phone was seized.

Her Honour Judge Celia Hughes said she accepted that Brown is emotionally and socially isolated and she heard from a Rhayader businesswoman who has known Brown for 15 years and has given him work and she said she believes he has a mental age of about 16.

She said he had tried to commit suicide previously.

Judge Hughes told Brown; “You are not going to prison today.”

Instead, she gave him a total sentence of 16 months in prison suspended for 18 months.

He will have to complete 26 sessions of the Building Better Choices Programme and 20 rehabilitation sessions.

His mobile phone will be forfeited and a sexual harm prevention order was put in place for 10 years, he will also have to register as a sex offender for 10 years and pay costs and a surcharge of £487.