Cardiff Crown Court (Image: Zoltan Bagosi / Alam)y
Last Updated: 3 minutes ago
A man who was already serving a suspended sentence for child image offences has been locked up after police discovered he was repeatedly breaching a sexual harm prevention order.
Thomas Morgan, 24, of Church Street in Rhymney, Caerphilly, had been convicted in July of three offences of making indecent images of children. He was handed a 10-month suspended sentence and made subject to a 10-year sexual harm prevention order.
The police visit
Officers attended Morgan’s home on October 26 and asked him to hand over his phone. He claimed it was broken after dropping it that morning, and said the only other device he owned was an old handset kept in a cupboard.
During a search of his room, Morgan repeatedly asked to use the toilet. Officers then spotted him concealing something in the front pocket of his jumper – a phone he had been hiding, which he claimed he had “forgotten about”.
Banned apps and disturbing messages
When the seized devices were analysed two days later on October 28, both were found to contain Snapchat and Telegram – apps Morgan was prohibited from using under his order because they do not retain messages.
On Telegram, officers uncovered conversations between Morgan and a user whose profile picture showed a young girl. Within those messages, Morgan had been offered the chance to purchase access to folders with titles including ‘CP girl’ and ‘CP boy’ – with CP referring to ‘child pornography’. Morgan asked how much it would cost, but told the seller he did not have the money.
A third hidden phone
Police returned to Morgan’s address and arrested him. When asked again whether he had any further devices, he denied it. However, officers discovered a Motorola phone stashed between his mattress and bed frame, displaying Snapchat notifications for an account that had not been registered with police. He also had an active Telegram account on the device.
Sentencing
Morgan admitted eight breaches of his sexual harm prevention order. Cardiff Crown Court heard he had two previous convictions for four offences, and had been placed on both a suspended sentence and a community order just months earlier.
“Perhaps the best mitigation that can be put before the court are Mr Morgan’s full and frank admissions,” said Jac Brown, appearing for Morgan.
“Immaturity no doubt played a role in his offending. He recognises that he was aware of the terms of the order. Ultimately, he adopted the approach of burying his head in the sand because he was fearful of the consequences.”
Recorder Andrew Hammond told Morgan: “I don’t know what you think court orders are but you must comply with them. They are not optional. When you breach it, you will be caught.”
Morgan was jailed for a total of two years and two months, which included the activation of six months from his previous suspended sentence.
