Mike Jones (Image: South Wales Police)
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A former lorry driver who was given a suspended sentence for killing a cyclist in 2015 has been jailed for repeatedly targeting what he believed were underage girls online.
Mike Jones, previously known as Mark Baker, was sentenced at Swansea Crown Court on Monday after admitting two counts of attempting to engage in sexual communications with a child and two counts of breaching a sexual harm prevention order.
Previous offending
Jones had already been sentenced at the same court in April 2024 to 16 months in prison, suspended for 24 months, for three almost identical offences – using the social media site Mingle under a false name to have sexualised conversations with decoys he believed to be girls aged 12, 13 and 14.
He was also made subject to a 10-year sexual harm prevention order and placed on the sex offenders’ register for the same period.
The new offences
Prosecutor Dean Pulling told the court that in February, Jones – using the username “Ugly Duckling” – contacted profiles appearing to belong to two 14-year-old girls on Mingle and Just Say Hi. Both profiles were in fact decoy accounts run by adults described as “paedophile hunters.”
Jones shared his mobile number and continued messaging even after being told the supposed ages of the girls. He asked sexual questions, requested photographs including images of them in underwear, and told the decoys how attractive they were. The court heard he asked one if she liked older men and told her he could “kiss her lips all day.”
Confrontation and arrest
Both adults passed Jones’ details to a group called Drank Dragons, and on 20 February he was confronted at his home – where his partner was also present. Police were called and Jones was arrested. He answered “no comment” throughout his interview.
Defence mitigation
Giles Hayes, representing Jones, told the court his client’s mental health had deteriorated significantly following his conviction at Shrewsbury Crown Court for causing the death of a cyclist, with the guilt weighing heavily on him.
He said the 2024 offending came at a very low point when Jones was suffering from low self-esteem, boredom and depression, describing him as “a middle-aged man who has nothing in his life apart from the internet to communicate with people.”
Mr Hayes added that since 2024, Jones had been assigned four different probation officers and had been unable to complete the Horizon sex offenders course, arguing that in reality little had been done to address the underlying issues for a defendant who “cannot see the wood for the trees.”
Sentence
Judge Recorder Mark Powell KC told Jones it was clear he had failed to learn from the chance given to him in 2024.
He said: “It is clear you did not learn your lesson.”
Jones, of Darren Road, Briton Ferry, received 24 months in prison with a one-third discount for his guilty pleas. The judge also activated six months of the previously suspended sentence to run consecutively, making a total of 30 months.
He will serve up to half the sentence in custody before being released on licence.
