Cardigan man sent explicit videos to ‘girl, 14’ in sting

A Cardigan man who sent explicit videos of himself to someone he believed was a 14-year-old girl has avoided immediate custody after a judge heard he was “lonely and isolated”.

Swansea Crown Court heard that 45-year-old Gavin Carter exchanged sexual messages with an account called “Lilly” on social media, which was actually being run by a woman from a paedophile hunter group.

Prosecutor Ian Wright told the court that in June this year, Carter messaged the account and despite being told “Lilly” was 14, he gave her his phone number and moved their conversation to WhatsApp.

Over the following days, Carter sent a series of sexual messages in which he said he would like to join her for a bath, asked to see her breasts, talked about kissing her, and suggested she perform a sexual act. He also sent videos of himself masturbating.

Members of the group obtained Carter’s address and on 12th July went to his house in Felin Ban and alerted police. When arrested, Carter told officers he contacted people online because he was lonely and generally blocked people aged under 17, though he accepted sending the messages and videos to “Lilly”.

Defending, Dan Griffiths said a pre-sentence report painted a picture of Carter as “a lonely, isolated individual” who became increasingly withdrawn following the death of his mother and was “effectively living as a recluse” whilst drinking too much alcohol.

He added: “He told officers he was disgusted in himself.”

Carter had previously pleaded guilty to attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child, attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity, and two counts of attempting to engage in sexual activity in the presence of a child. The court heard he has “many” previous convictions but none for sexual offences, with his last conviction in 2016 for being drunk and disorderly.

Judge Paul Thomas KC said he had given the issue “a great deal of anxious consideration” before deciding the sentence could be suspended. He told Carter that “by the skin of your teeth” he had avoided immediate custody.

With a one-third discount for his guilty pleas, Carter was sentenced to 20 months in prison suspended for two years. He must complete a six-month alcohol treatment programme, 150 hours of unpaid work, and a rehabilitation programme. He must register as a sex offender for 10 years and was made subject to a sexual harm prevention order for the same period.