A paedophile sexually abused a young girl and took intimate pictures of her, a court has heard.
65-year-old John Charles, from Briton Ferry, was only identified when his child victim confided in a teacher at school.
Five Category A indecent images of children were later found on Charles’s laptop.
A judge said he had no doubt that if the youngster had not courageously spoken up in school, the sexual assaults would have continued for years.
Judge Geraint Walters said Charles’ offending against the girl had been persistent, repeated, and relentless.
In the experience of the courts, offending of the type in the case often had life-long impacts on its victims and that was the wickedness of such behaviour.
With a 10 per cent discount for his guilty pleas, Charles was sentenced to 10 years in prison today at Swansea Crown Court. He will serve two thirds of that sentence in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community.
Charles will be a registered sex offender for the rest of his life, and was made the subject of an indefinite sexual harm prevention order to control his access to children.
Detective Constable Sophie Davies speaking on the case said:
“John Charles totally took advantage of his defenceless child victim to carry out a series of abhorrent sexual assaults.
“He clearly posed a huge risk to others, particularly children, so it is right that he has been sent to prison for a long period of time.”
Guidance on how to report a rape, sexual assault or other sexual offence can be found here: How to report rape, sexual assault or other sexual offences | South Wales Police (south-wales.police.uk)
[Lead image: South Wales Police]
