Man Jailed for Forcing Friend to Walk Naked Through Village

A Penclawdd man has been jailed for 31 months after beating up his friend and forcing him to walk naked through the village streets whilst filming the humiliating ordeal on mobile phones.

Karl Griffiths, 42, of Llanyrnewydd, Penclawdd, Gower, spent the evening of 30th January socialising at a friend’s flat before receiving a phone call and returning in an aggressive state. He locked the door, confiscated phones, and accused his friends of stealing from him.

Swansea Crown Court heard Griffiths assaulted the couple using the woman’s crutches before repeatedly punching his male friend. He then “demanded” his friend remove his clothes and told him they were “going for a walk” – proceeding to force his naked friend outside and “essentially paraded him naked around the streets” near the Penclawdd CK store.

Prosecutor Craig Jones said: “The defendant proceeded to force his naked friend outside and essentially paraded him naked around the streets in the middle of the village.”

After returning to the flat, Griffiths smashed the TV and called police saying: “Someone better come and get me, I’m going to kill someone.”

The victim said in his impact statement: “He cannot believe that someone who he considered to be a friend could have done what Griffiths did” and that the experience had a “massive impact on his mental health” leaving him feeling “unsafe in his own home.”

Defence barrister James Hartson said whatever grievance Griffiths may have had “could not remotely justify the level of humiliation and violence” handed out, adding that his client hoped his friend could “forgive him at some stage in the future.”

Judge Huw Rees described Griffiths’ behaviour as “irrational” and likely committed under the influence of drink or drugs. Griffiths pleaded guilty to battery, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, criminal damage, and kidnapping.

He will serve up to half the sentence in custody before being released on licence.