Carl Williams

Carl Williams, a 27-year-old man from Anglesey, North Wales, was sentenced at Caernarfon Crown Court for breaching a sexual harm prevention order and failing to comply with the notification requirements of the sex offenders register. The court heard that Williams had a prior history of sexual offending, having previously been convicted of inciting a young girl to engage in sexual activity, which resulted in restrictions on his internet use.

In June 2023, authorities discovered that Williams was using Snapchat in violation of his order. His phones were seized, and he was released under investigation. Despite this, he continued to use the platform to contact a young girl who informed him she was under 16. Williams proceeded to send her lewd and concerning messages, which left the victim traumatised. The prosecution highlighted that Williams had seven previous convictions for nine offences, describing his record as troubling and concerning.

During the hearing, defence barrister Elen Owen argued that Williams had entered early guilty pleas, citing his troubled background and mental health issues, and suggested a community sentence with support would be more appropriate. However, Judge Timothy Petts rejected this, stating that only an immediate custodial sentence was suitable given Williams's high risk to children and lack of realistic chance of rehabilitation outside prison. The judge noted that Williams had persisted in using Snapchat even after being caught.

A pre-sentence report assessed Williams as posing a high risk to children with a likelihood of seriously harmful offending. He was sentenced to a total of two years and eight months' imprisonment, with up to half served in custody and the remainder on licence. Additionally, his sex offender notification requirement was reset to 10 years, and a 15-year restraining order was imposed to prevent contact with the victim. The case was reported by Wales Updates on 10 March 2026, based on proceedings at Caernarfon Crown Court.