Bowler, 34, from Rosehill Terrace, Mount Pleasant, Swansea also sent inappropriate visual material of himself of a sexual nature making considerable effort to incite them into sexual activity.
A meeting was later arranged with the young girl where he forced her to delete all previous messages before he would violate the child.
Bowler told the girl the conversation would be ‘our little secret’ and threatened to kill himself if the police became involved.
In a statement the girl said she had felt sick and really pressurised during the online exchanges, and she said she found the conversations intimidating. She said she had suffered disrupted sleep and nightmares as a result of what happened, and said she was haunted by the incident.
Bowler appearing in Swansea Crown Court on Friday was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison for engaging in sexual communications with a child, inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and for arranging/facilitating of child sexual offences.
Bowler will serve up to half the sentence in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community. He will be a registered sex offender for the rest of his life, and has been made the subject of an indefinite sexual harm prevention order.
Detective Inspector Sharon Gill-Lewis said:
“After prolonged abuse by Phillip Bowler, his victim bravely made the decision to disclose Bowler’s abuse, first to a family member and then in turn the Police.
“This sentence demonstrates that this type of offending will not go unpunished. Phillip Bowler preyed on a defenceless child victim in a depraved manner, and is now rightfully beginning a prison sentence.”
[Lead image: South Wales Police]
