Luke Rogers (Image: Dyfed-Powys Police)
Last Updated: 4 minutes ago
A registered sex offender who deceived an employer to secure work – and was only exposed after making a bizarre rant about paedophiles – has been sentenced to two years in prison.
Luke Rogers, 40, of Wolfscastle, had been convicted at Maidstone Crown Court for sexual activity with a teenage girl and was subject to a sexual harm prevention order running until 2031.
The order required him to disclose his status as a sex offender to the parents of any children he came into contact with.
The deception
Swansea Crown Court heard that Rogers applied for a job in February, telling the employer he had never been in trouble with the police for anything “dodgy”. He also claimed to hold a full driving licence when he in fact only had a provisional licence – on which he had already accumulated six penalty points.
After being taken on, Rogers drove the company van on February 24 and 25. There were also brief periods during his employment when he was left unsupervised with his employer’s child – a situation his boss was unaware put the child at potential risk.
How he was caught
Prosecutor Regan Walters told the court that while driving with his boss, Rogers remarked: “It’s crazy how all of these paedophiles get away with everything and get protected.”
The comment prompted his employer to search Rogers’ name online, uncovering his criminal past. Rogers was immediately dismissed and the matter reported to police. He was arrested on March 12.
Persistent offending
The court heard Rogers had 19 previous convictions spanning 38 offences and a pattern of repeatedly breaching court orders.
He had been jailed in November 2023 for two breaches of his sexual harm prevention order after deleting Facebook and WhatsApp from his phone and keeping a secret second phone. He was imprisoned again in December 2024 for deleting the MeetMe app and using false names in WhatsApp group chats.
At the time of this latest offence, he was already subject to a community order imposed in September for a further breach – deleting a WhatsApp message he had sent to a woman asking her to meet for coffee.
Mitigation and sentencing
Defence barrister Caitlin Brazel said Rogers had cooperated during his police interview and “had the good sense” to plead guilty at the earliest opportunity. She said the breach had stemmed from his attempts to find employment, but acknowledged he must accept he is “the author of his own misfortune” when it comes to difficulties securing work.
Sentencing, Judge Geraint Walters said: “You duped your employer into allowing you to be employed by telling a series of lies.”
The judge added that he had “rarely seen” a defendant with such repeated determination for breaching court orders.
Rogers pleaded guilty to breaching a sexual harm prevention order and driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence. He was jailed for two years and banned from driving for 18 months.
