Man Sent Explicit Photo to Girl, 13, via Snapchat

A 20-year-old man has been sentenced after sending an explicit image of himself to a 13-year-old girl via Snapchat. Robert Vardon, from North View Terrace in Aberaman, Rhondda Cynon Taf, admitted to sending a picture of his penis to the underage victim. 📱

Prosecutor Andrew Davies told Cardiff Crown Court that police discovered the offence after the victim informed them of sexually explicit conversations with Vardon. The court heard that the pair had met in person and Vardon was in a position of trust.

“The Snapchat conversation involved Mr Vardon sending a picture of his erect penis to the victim and she told police she had sent a picture of her breasts to him,” Mr Davies told the court. “He was interviewed by police and admitted he had sent a picture of his erect penis. He said he had received an image of her in her underwear. He also said he didn’t know her exact age but knew she was under 16.”

Now 22, Vardon pleaded guilty to sexual communication with a child but denied the more serious charge of sexual activity with a child, of which he was acquitted at trial.

The victim’s family expressed concern that the experience had affected “her confidence and her relationships with others” and that she had been “bottling up” her feelings. The prosecutor added: “She is scared of bumping into the defendant.”

Defence barrister Paul Hewitt argued that the victim had “giggled” during the trial when asked about the image, claiming: “That indicated the effect upon her was nothing serious at all and I made that point to the jury.”

Hewitt requested a suspended sentence, stating: “He has a job and he provides for his partner and their child not only financially but emotionally. Should an immediate prison sentence be passed he would lose his job and that would have a significant effect on his family.”

Recorder Andrew Hammond noted that the probation service deemed Vardon a medium risk of harm to teenage girls and described him as failing to show “empathy” for the victim. “You are not a victim of this matter,” the judge told Vardon. “You are a perpetrator of the criminal offence of sexual communication with a child.”

The judge imposed a six-month jail term suspended for 12 months, 150 hours of unpaid work, 20 days of rehabilitation activity, £420 in prosecution costs, a £154 victim services surcharge, a five-year restraining order, and a five-year sexual harm prevention order. ⚖️