Man Claims to Be King, Demands Charles III Arrest in Court Letters

A Glynneath man who wrote bizarre letters to a Welsh judge claiming to be the “rightful king” and demanding the arrest of “false” King Charles III has been sentenced to eight and a half years.

Leighton Stanley, 47, told Judge Paul Thomas KC that if he didn’t arrange for the King’s arrest, he would “face execution for treason” and demanded a trillion pounds in compensation. 📨

The letters were written whilst Stanley was on remand for sexual offences against a child and a woman. Swansea Crown Court heard the defendant’s mental health had “clearly spiralled out of control.”

Stanley’s offending came to light after he made a shocking TikTok livestream from Cardiff city centre in 2023, claiming “God is a paedophile” and admitting to sex acts against a child, saying he did it to “protect her from paedophiles” because he could “smell her pheromones.” He hoped the video would go viral and be seen by “eight billion people.” 📱

The court heard Stanley had first been reported to police in 2003 when a child disclosed sexual abuse, but no action was taken. He rang police himself in 2011 to confess but later denied it when sober, with the investigation again going nowhere.

Judge Thomas KC called the police’s failure to act sooner despite “compelling evidence” an “absolute disgrace.”

Stanley, formerly of High Street, Glynneath, pleaded guilty to indecent assault of a child, six sexual assaults of a woman, and malicious communications. He received an extended sentence of four and a half years custody followed by four years on licence.

Defence barrister Andrew Evans said Stanley’s mental health was at its “lowest” when the TikTok video was made, and that medication had led to “significant improvement.”

South Wales Police said investigations in 2003 and 2011 couldn’t proceed due to insufficient evidence, but a new probe following the TikTok disclosures led to Stanley’s conviction.