Timothy Ayres (Image: South Wales Police)
Last Updated: 2 minutes ago
A 39-year-old man with a history of sexual offending against children has been sentenced to 16 months in prison after failing to declare bank cards and a tablet device to police as required under the terms of a court order.
Timothy James Ayres, of Oystermouth Road, Swansea, appeared at Swansea Crown Court having previously admitted breaching a sexual harm prevention order and failing to comply with his obligations on the sex offenders register.
The judge’s remarks
Sentencing him, Judge Huw Rees told Ayres he had committed a “serious and disgusting offence” in 2020 which led to the prevention order being imposed, and that he had gone on to breach its conditions. The judge described Ayres as “a sexual danger to children.”
The 16-month sentence included a one-third reduction to reflect his guilty pleas. Ayres will serve up to half the term behind bars before being released on licence for the remainder.
How the breaches came to light
Swansea Crown Court heard that officers arrested Ayres at his seafront home on April 28 on suspicion of engaging in sexual communications with a child. While he was being held outside the property during a search, he asked an officer to retrieve his wallet from a nearby car. Inside the wallet were two Monzo bank cards that Ayres had not registered with police – something he was required to do within three days of obtaining them. He told officers he had simply forgotten.
A further search at his mother’s address in Gorseinon uncovered a tablet device she said her son had given her. Examination of the device showed Ayres had been using it, with activity linked to his Google account and a number of selfie photographs found on it.
Prosecutor Ryan Bowen told the court that while the Monzo cards had been used for transactions, “there was nothing to suggest they had been used for anything sinister.” Ayres gave “no comment” responses throughout his police interview.
Previous offending
The prevention order and sex offenders register requirements were imposed in 2020 after Ayres was convicted of causing a child under 13 to watch sexual activity, having sent a video of himself masturbating to an 11-year-old girl. He received 15 months in prison for that offence.
In 2023, Ayres was sentenced to four years in prison for a separate set of offences. He had used his knowledge of the dark web to establish an online business selling counterfeit banknotes, boasting they were “easy to pass in shops.” Police recovered almost 300 fake £20 notes from his home along with extensive online communications relating to the operation. He had also been offering hacked PayPal accounts for sale, importing cannabis from the United States on a wholesale basis and supplying it in the UK, and was involved in the supply of cocaine.
Defence
Dan Griffiths, representing Ayres, told the court his client accepted failing to disclose the bank cards and accepted using the tablet held by his mother. He said Ayres had already been recalled to prison for 56 days on his 2023 sentence following the April arrest, and that his client understood only an immediate custodial sentence was appropriate for the new offences.
The court heard Ayres remains under investigation in connection with the allegations that led to his arrest in April.
