A man already on the sex offenders’ register has been jailed for two years. He spent two nights a week at his partner’s home while her two children were there, despite being banned from staying in a house with anyone under 18.
Andrew Watkins, 41, was sentenced at Swansea Crown Court on Thursday. The court also heard that indecent images of children had been found on a mobile phone, including one of a semi-naked girl aged between eight and 11.
The 2024 order
Watkins, who is originally from Bridgend but now has no fixed abode, was convicted in 2024 of offences involving indecent images of children. As part of that sentence he was given a 10-year sexual harm prevention order. It banned him from deleting his internet history and from having any social media account that wasn’t in his own name or that police didn’t know about.
How it came to light
In February this year, a probation officer asked Watkins about a number on his mobile phone. He then admitted he was in a relationship with a woman who had two young children. The pair had met on the dating app Hinge, through an account he wasn’t allowed to use.
Further breaches
Prosecuting, Megan Williams told the court Watkins had also used an Instagram account that wasn’t in his name, and had deleted his internet and browsing history.
He was also found to hold accounts on a number of different websites, some of them aimed at people with sexual fetishes.
Phone evidence
Police searches of a mobile phone found six Category C indecent images of children. One showed a girl aged between eight and 11.
The charges
Watkins was arrested on 7 October and charged with:
- six counts of making an indecent photograph of a child
- 10 counts of breaching a sexual harm prevention order
- one count of failing to comply with the notification requirements of the sex offenders’ register
Defence
Jon Tarrant, defending, told the court his client “understands that custody must be inevitable in the circumstances”.
Sentencing
Judge Huw Rees told Watkins: “You have an unhealthy interest in prepubescent children and you have committed serious offences.”
The judge said Watkins had shown a “flagrant disregard” for the sexual harm prevention order made in 2024.
Watkins was jailed for two years. He will be subject to sex offender notification requirements for the next seven years. The sexual harm prevention order still applies until 2034.
