Cardiff Man Jailed for “Depraved” Online Child Sex Offences

A 31-year-old Cardiff man has been jailed after sexually grooming a 14-year-old boy online and being found with hundreds of indecent images of children. 💻⚖️

William Rutter of Broadway, Adamsdown, was sentenced to five years and four months imprisonment with an extended licence period of three years at Newport Crown Court on Friday.

The court heard Rutter encouraged his young victim to perform sexual acts and discussed the child with another paedophile online. He was discovered after the victim’s mother became concerned about her son’s online activity and contacted police.

Judge Daniel Williams said: “The depravity of your offending defies belief and description… You are a high risk of causing serious harm to children. You have a longstanding and entrenched interest in the sexual abuse of children.”

In a victim impact statement, the boy’s mother said: “It’s had a major effect on his future – I want to protect him from that. It’s had a negative impact on [the victim] and I. I can’t begin to explain how much this has affected us. Since I have seen those deeply disturbing messages sent to my child, I have been unable to get them out of my head. It plays with my head. I have to be strong for my son but when he’s in bed I cry about everything he’s been exposed to. I feel like a broken person… This has shattered me – I feel like his innocence has been taken away from him… (The victim) is not the same and has suicidal thoughts and he’s going to therapy now.”

Rutter was also caught communicating with an undercover police officer posing as a 14-year-old boy. When arrested, authorities found over 1,000 indecent images on his devices, including videos of babies being abused.

The defendant pleaded guilty to multiple offences including inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, causing a child to watch a sexual act, and distribution of indecent images. The court noted he had previous convictions for making indecent images of children.

Rutter will serve at least two-thirds of his sentence in custody before being considered for release.