Edward Bernard Collins, a 46-year-old man from Rhyl, north Wales, has been sentenced to an indefinite term of imprisonment following his admission to multiple serious sexual offences against children. The case, heard at Mold Crown Court, highlighted Collins' persistent and dangerous sexual interest in very young girls, as evidenced by his history of child pornography convictions and subsequent grooming and assault of a toddler.
Collins, who had previously been jailed for two years in October 1999 at Birmingham Crown Court for eight child pornography offences, was placed on the sex offenders' register for 10 years. Despite this, after his release, he relocated to Rhyl to be near a woman and her partner whom he had befriended. It was during this time that he groomed their children, including an 18-month-old girl, and committed sexual assaults. The prosecution described the offences as a 'horrific example' of grooming and assaulting a child, with Collins admitting to 15 charges in total: two counts of sexually touching a child, seven offences of taking indecent photographs of children, and six offences of downloading child pornography from the internet.
Police investigations uncovered pornographic images on Collins' computer hard drive in April, followed by an additional 360 images on a laptop he had pawned locally. Among these were 47 photographs of two young girls, including explicit images showing Collins indecently assaulting the 18-month-old toddler. Gareth Parry, prosecuting, detailed how Collins took the girls out on a Sunday morning to McDonald's before bringing them to his flat, where he photographed them jumping on his bed without underwear. Collins admitted to being sexually aroused by the scene. While the older girl played, he photographed himself assaulting her younger sister.
Judge Dafydd Hughes, presiding at Mold Crown Court, imposed an indeterminate sentence for public protection, stating that Collins posed a significant risk to young girls. Ordinarily, the term would have been six years, but the indefinite sentence was necessary to protect the public. The judge remarked, 'You had no thought of the harm you may have caused those children,' and emphasised Collins' 'abiding sexual interest in very young girls.' Collins will be eligible to apply for release after three years, but only if the parole board deems him safe. He was also ordered to register as a sex offender for life and prohibited from working with children or possessing cameras or camera-equipped mobile phones.
Simon Mintz, defending, referenced a psychiatric report that raised significant concerns, accepting the need for a sentence for public protection. He noted that the young age of the victims meant they were unlikely to have been aware of the abuse, though the judge expressed hope while acknowledging the exposure to sexual behaviour. This case, reported by BBC News on 1 December 2006, underscores the ongoing dangers posed by repeat offenders and the judiciary's commitment to safeguarding children.