Dad sent sexual messages to police decoy while on National Express bus

A dad sent sexually explicit messages to what he thought was a 12-year-old girl while travelling onboard a National Express coach, a court has heard. James Roberts was in fact chatting to an undercover police officer operating a decoy account.

The defendant's barrister told Swansea Crown Court that her client, who has a two-year-old daughter, felt "shame and embarrassment" over his actions. Passing sentence the judge asked the defendant to think about how he would feel if, in 10 years' time, a man tried to have the sort of conversation with his daughter that that he had engaged in with the decoy.

Harry Dickens, prosecuting, said on August 9 last year Roberts contacted a profile purporting to be that of an 18-year-old girl on the messaging app RandoChat saying he was "looking for a naughty girl." The profile was being run by an undercover police officer who told Roberts she was 12 but the defendant responded by asking if her mother spanked her.

The conversation then moved to the Snapchat platform where Roberts began sending messages about sex and masturbation and talking about nude pictures telling the decoy you were "never too young to start sending pictures". The court heard the defendant also told the decoy that he was having similar sexual conversations with a 14-year-old girl. The prosecutor said that the subsequent examination of location data showed the exchanges had taken place while Roberts was travelling on a National Express coach service from Gatwick Airport to west Wales.

The court heard police attended Roberts' home in Pembrokeshire on August 17 and he at first refused to come downstairs to speak to officers saying he had anxiety. When asked to hand over his mobile phone the defendant said he had returned the handset to Samsung to be fixed but the court heard he was "extremely vague" about the details and was unable to provide any information about where he had sent it. Mr Dickens said no phone has ever recovered by police. For the latest court reports, sign up to our crime newsletter here

James Roberts, aged 28, of Allt y Carne, Goodwick, Fishguard, Pembrokeshire, had previously pleaded guilty to attempting to engage in sexual communications with a child when he returned to the dock for sentencing. He has no previous convictions. Hannah George, for Roberts, said the defendant was a father to a two-year-old girl and felt "shame and embarrassment" for his actions, and she said as a result of the stigma associated with his conviction Roberts had lost his job. She said the defendant had post-traumatic stress disorder following "bullying at school as a result of his race" and was someone who suffered with his mental health and who struggles to express his feelings.

Judge Paul Thomas KC said the defendant had been in online contact with someone whom he "firmly believed to be a 12-year-old girl" and had sent her sexual messages. He told Roberts: "You have a two-year-old daughter. Just think how you would feel if a man in his thirties tried to have that sort of conversation with her in 10 years’ time." With a one-quarter discount for his guilty plea Roberts was sentenced to 30 weeks in prison suspended for two years. He must complete an accredited sex offenders programme and a rehabilitation course, and will be a registered sex offender for the next 10 years.

This interactive tool allows you to check the latest crime statistics for your area: