Penclawdd child sex offender jailed for nine years

A Penclawdd man has been jailed for nine years following an intelligence-led operation by Tarian, the regional organised crime unit, along with South Wales Police.

A previously convicted paedophile Steven Morris 58, from Penclawdd in Swansea appeared before Swansea Crown Court today for sentencing, where he had previously pleaded guilty to sexually communicating with a child, meeting a child following sexual grooming as well as breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

He was arrested on the 14^th October 2021 by detectives from Tarian Disruption Unit and investigated by Swansea Criminal Investigation Department, where he was remanded in custody until his appearance today.

Morris engaged in conversation with what he believed to be a 13-year-old girl, who was in fact an undercover police officer. He told the officer “Do mum and dad know u chat? My wife doesn’t xxx”.

Upon hearing she was just 13 years old Morris stated “As long as u aren’t police or gonna report me I’m happy to chat and meet up if u are genuine”.

Morris’ conversations with the officer became more sexually explicit, he sent images of himself and began to suggest that the pair meet in person, saying things like “If we meet it would be really secret xxxx”.

A date was then arranged for Morris to meet with the undercover officer at a location in Pontypridd on the 14^th October 2021. Once he arrived at the agreed location he was quickly arrested by officers from TARIAN’s Disruption Team.

Morris was given a nine-year extended sentence. Four of which will be spent in prison. He was placed on the Registered Sex Offenders list indefinitely, and was given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for 10 years.

Detective Inspector Dave Bancroft said: “This is an excellent operation between Tarian South Wales Police.

“It is our absolute priority to protect and keep children safe in our communities, irrelevant of who or where that threat comes from.

“Law enforcement operates across the internet, and we will relentlessly seek to bring to justice individuals who use the web to facilitate the abuse of children.”

“If anyone has been a victim of child sexual abuse, I urge you to report it to your local police force via 101. We will always follow up allegations of abuse, no matter when they occurred. Victims can talk in confidence to experienced investigators and we can also help them get access to a range of other support services.”

“If you have concerns about your use of the internet or inappropriate thoughts or behaviour about children or if you are worried about how someone you know behaves around children or are worried about their use of the internet then the Lucy Faithfull Foundation provide a free, anonymous and confidential Stop It Now! helpline on 0808 1000 900 for advice, support and information.”

(Lead image: Tarian / South Wales Police)