Cwmbran man on sex offenders register after court ruling

A Cwmbran man has been given an absolute discharge after being found to have distributed indecent images of children, but must register as a sex offender for five years.

Phillip Woodcock, 42, of St Dials, was charged with three offences of distributing indecent images of children on 5 April 2022, but was deemed not fit to enter his pleas.

Following a hearing at Cardiff Crown Court, Woodcock was found to have committed the acts.

Laurence Jones, prosecuting, told the court that the charges related to three Category A images – the most serious – one Category B and one Category C indecent images of children.

Julia Cox, appearing for Woodcock, said these offences had taken place three-and-a-half years ago and the defendant had not reoffended since. She said the defendant had moved back in with his parents since the offences were committed, and he was now under their supervision.

Judge Eugene Egan said the nature of the case and the defendant’s mental health issues meant he was left with just one type of sentence available.

“Putting it in simple English, my hands are tied,” he explained to the court.

Woodcock was given an absolute discharge but must register as a sex offender for five years. ⚖️

Judge Egan said a sexual harm prevention order would be “unenforceable” and was neither necessary nor proportionate.

After the previous hearing, the mother of the victim told the Argus how the ordeal began several years ago after what she described as a long-running pattern of harassment, including repeated vandalism and disturbing behaviour near her home.

“At first, we didn’t know who it was,” she said. “There was poo thrown at our house, on the door, on my partner’s car, and even in the garden. It kept happening, and we just couldn’t figure out who was doing it.”

After repeated incidents, the family decided to install cameras outside their home.

“Then one day my partner came home from work with an envelope that had been stuck to our fence,” she said. “It was addressed to my little boy, who was only three at the time. When he opened it, his face just dropped, it was full of pornographic pictures of children. We were horrified.”

She described the images as “horrible, terrifying, and sick pictures of children in such disgusting situations”.

The police were called, and digital evidence was seized from a laptop during the investigation.

“We’ve had years of anxiety and sleepless nights,” the mum said. “It’s been horrible, something no family should ever have to go through.”