A 36-year-old Cardiff man has been sent to prison for four years after sexually assaulting two girls under 16. He committed the offences while on bail, as police investigated child abuse images found on his phone.
Julio Escobar, of Marlborough Road in Roath, was sentenced by Judge Daniel Williams at Newport Crown Court on Friday.
The offences admitted
- 1 count of Sexual assault
- 1 count of Assaulting a girl by sexual touching
- 3 counts of Making indecent images
The court was told he had been of previous good character.
How the investigation began
Officers first went to Escobar’s home in Cardiff on 16 July 2025, after reports that a Facebook account had uploaded an indecent image of a child, and he was arrested.
Two mobile phones were seized. One held almost 500 indecent images of children, including:
- 238 category A images
- 140 category B images
- 93 category C images
The phone also held four images of extreme pornography. Some of the material showed children as young as four years old being abused.
After being interviewed, Escobar was released on bail. It was during that period that the sexual assaults took place. He was arrested a second time once the two girls came forward. He then admitted the assaults and accepted that he knew both girls were under 16.
What the prosecution said
Prosecutor Hannah Friedman described how Escobar asked the first girl whether “she loved him” before touching her inappropriately. He kissed her on the mouth and touched her breasts over her clothes, then grabbed her waist, even though she told him she “didn’t like it”.
She later told police Escobar had “ruined her childhood”, and that she was no longer able to trust any man.
The second girl described Escobar approaching her and beginning to touch and kiss her. He went on to kiss her feet and whisper to her about what he wanted to do to her. Ms Friedman told the court he touched her breasts and vagina, and said he wanted to perform oral sex on her.
In her own words
Ms Friedman read a victim personal statement to the court from the elder of the two girls, who said:
“Ever since it happened I’ve been feeling very uncomfortable… I don’t feel like I normally would anymore…. I feel like I have changed as a result of what he did to me. I was usually quite calm, enjoyed making jokes and tried to be happy but I don’t feel like this anymore.
“I want to be happy but I struggle to feel this way and more often feel sad and nervous. I struggle to trust men. I always feel nervous when I think of that day randomly and can’t stop feeling ill all the time. I haven’t been sleeping normally, it keeps me awake at night. Sometimes I dream about it. Sometimes I feel like I need to go to the toilet to be sick, it causes my stomach to churn and I feel so anxious about it. I don’t feel well most of the time and constantly think about what happened. I no longer feel fun in the things I once did.”
The defence
Kathryn Lane, mitigating, said her client had admitted the offences at an early stage. That meant the girls did not have to give evidence at a trial or be interviewed by police. She told the court he had shown remorse for his behaviour.
Sentencing
Judge Williams jailed Escobar for a total of four years. He will also be subject to:
- Sex offender notification requirements indefinitely
- A Sexual Harm Prevention Order for 10 years
- A restraining order for 10 years
Comments
Comments on this story are checked before they appear. Please don’t name anyone the story doesn’t, or say anything about guilt or the evidence.
No comments yet. Be the first to have your say.