Scarlett Lee (Image: South Wales Police)
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South Wales Police have rejected rumours that a Bridgend sex offender has been released from prison ahead of time, confirming she will stay in custody until May 2027.
Posts had been circulating on social media claiming Scarlett Lee, formerly known as Scott Henwood, had been let out early. The force says it is aware of the claims and that Lee remains in prison.
The most recent case
As WalesOnline reported in July, Lee was jailed for two years and four months at Cardiff Crown Court after admitting three counts of breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.
Officers visited the 32-year-old on May 6 and asked for her phone, which she handed over. When they looked through it, they found she had been using incognito mode and the Discord app, both of which were barred under her order. She was arrested and her phone was examined further.
Prosecutor Rob Simkins told the court that Lee had also been using Reddit under the name Scarlett Winters. Asked why, she said her 32-year-old male partner in Canada had the surname Winters.
Lee, of Abergarw Road, Brynmenyn, had four previous convictions for breaching a SHPO and possessing prohibited images of children.
Background
The order was first imposed in February 2024, when Lee was convicted of possessing a prohibited image of a child and given a two-year community order along with sex offender notification requirements.
She was jailed last year after a folder containing 80 animated images depicting adults engaging in sexual activity with children was found in her possession. Asked whether she had used the dark web, she denied it but said: “There’s probably stuff I shouldn’t have on my laptop”.
Mitigation
James McKenna, defending, said nobody had been harmed by his client’s actions and that she posed “little risk”. He said she had been recalled to prison and was being held at HMP Parc.
Mr McKenna said: “She transitioned some two years ago. She has had some difficulty in a male prison presenting as female and difficulty with her mental health but she has settled well into the prison. She has autism and was sectioned four years ago.”
Sentencing
The Recorder of Cardiff, Judge Tracey Lloyd-Clarke, said: “You have total disregard for court orders which is apparent from your conviction for these offences and your previous convictions.
“You seem to regard them as something you can ignore or circumvent as you wish.”
Lee remains subject to sex offender notification requirements and the Sexual Harm Prevention Order.
