Pryderi Tomos

Pryderi Tomos, a 35-year-old registered sex offender from Waunfawr in Gwynedd, was sentenced at Caernarfon Crown Court for accessing child sexual abuse material on his mobile phone, even though monitoring software had been installed as part of his bail conditions.

Tomos had previously been jailed in 2017 after police discovered children's underwear in his bed and hundreds of indecent photographs and videos on his computers. He was released from prison in October 2021 and, on 16 February 2022, monitoring software was installed on his mobile phone to track his online activity. Despite this, Tomos accessed 'numerous' indecent videos in February 2023, showing young girls engaging in sexual activity with adult men. The videos included footage of girls as young as six being raped, with one clip lasting almost an hour and some viewed multiple times. Tracking data revealed 19 separate accesses over a 24-hour period.

Prosecutor Laura Knightly detailed how police arrested Tomos and seized two mobile phones following the alerts from the monitoring software. In interview, Tomos claimed he had only viewed adult pornography, but forensic analysis confirmed he had watched child abuse videos and saved screenshots, primarily featuring girls aged six to 15. The court heard that the material depicted real victims, including children raped for up to 38 minutes while sleeping.

Defending barrister John Wyn Williams argued that Tomos suffered from identifiable mental health issues and had admitted guilt at the earliest opportunity. He stated, 'He is crying out for help from mental health services and probation, but for the time being I accept that it will have to be prison.' Judge Nicola Saffman imposed an extended sentence of five years and seven months, emphasising the vulnerability of the child victims. She remarked, 'I have to consider the age and vulnerability of the children in these videos who were raped and abused, some as young as five and some sleeping. The children in these videos are real children, there are real victims here. People like you who watch these depraved videos are, in effect, part of a market whereby this rape and filming takes place.'

The judge ordered the destruction of the seized devices and noted that Tomos remains on the sex offenders' register for life due to prior convictions. The case was reported by North Wales Live on 2 August 2023, based on proceedings at Caernarfon Crown Court.