Cian Williams, aged 18 at the time, began targeting a 13-year-old girl on Snapchat in 2024, sending messages that quickly turned sexual in nature. He offered her free cannabis in exchange for performing a sex act on him, sent her an explicit image of himself, and suggested she send photos of herself in her underwear. These actions constituted grooming and inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, as detailed in court proceedings reported by North Wales Live and Wales Online.
Suspicion from others led to police involvement, and Williams was released on bail for these initial offences. However, while on bail, he brazenly committed similar crimes against a 14-year-old girl, contacting her via social media, inviting her to his home where he had sex with her, sending her explicit pictures, and urging her to send sexual images of herself. The 14-year-old's mother grew suspicious and reported the activity to authorities, prompting further investigation by North Wales Police.
Williams, who had no previous convictions, was arrested and faced multiple charges. He admitted to offences including sexual activity with a child, causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, and grooming a child. A further charge of perverting the course of justice was allowed to lie on file after he pressured the 14-year-old not to report him.
- Prosecutor Laura Knightly outlined how Williams approached the first victim online, escalating to explicit demands.
- The second victim's mother alerted police after discovering the communications.
The impact on the victims was profound. The 13-year-old expressed in her victim impact statement feeling 'betrayed', struggling with trust issues, difficulty concentrating, reluctance to go out, and fear of encountering Williams again. The 14-year-old reported feeling angry, lonely, vulnerable, and suffering from panic attacks and nightmares.
In defence, John Wyn Williams argued that the offender was immature, diagnosed with bipolar personality disorder, and had spent 12 and a half months on remand constructively. He suggested community management with a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO). However, Judge Nicola Jones deemed the offences too serious for anything but immediate custody, stating, 'I am satisfied that only a determinate sentence of length will satisfactorily address any risk that you pose in any event.' Williams, now 20, was sentenced to nine years' detention, with two-thirds served in a young offenders institute and prison, the remainder on licence. He also received an indefinite SHPO barring him from loitering near or entering school grounds for children up to age 16, a 15-year restraining order against the victims, and deprivation orders for mobile phones.