A 24-year-old man from Hirwaun, Wales, has been sentenced to eight years in prison for a series of online sexual offences against young girls. Rowan Barnett-Davies preyed on vulnerable children by catfishing them on social media, pretending to be a teenager to gain their trust and coerce them into sharing explicit material.
According to details presented at Newport Crown Court, Barnett-Davies contacted approximately 120 young girls across the UK, some as young as 11, using platforms like Snapchat. He used a photograph of a real 15-year-old boy to deceive his victims, quickly steering conversations towards sexual topics and sending images of his own genitals to intimidate or entice them. Prosecutor Martha Smith-Higgins described how he would 'cast his net' by sending initial messages and persisting even when blocked, sometimes by reaching out to victims' mothers or friends to re-establish contact.
- Barnett-Davies offered payments, gifts like vapes and clothes, and false compliments to manipulate the girls.
- He screen-recorded videos on Snapchat using an app called 'X-recorder' to save content that would otherwise delete automatically.
- The offender distributed the obtained indecent images and videos to other paedophiles via apps such as Telegram.
- In one disturbing instance, he requested images of a victim's six-year-old sister and blackmailed girls by threatening to post their images online if they did not comply.
Police from South Wales Police received intelligence about Barnett-Davies possessing over 2,000 indecent images of child sexual abuse material. They raided his home on 21 December 2023, where he was arrested. During his interview, he admitted to the recordings but claimed loneliness and a desire for attention, insisting he was not interested in children but 'pretty girls'. The court heard victim personal statements detailing the profound impact of his actions, including feelings of betrayal, embarrassment, shame, and long-term trauma. One victim stated: 'I felt betrayed, I didn’t expect him to do this to me, I trusted him with everything.' Another said: 'I feel embarrassed and ashamed, I’m really embarrassed people have seen my body and that I trusted him.' A victim's mother described him as 'calculated, manipulative and cruel', noting how he exploited children's insecurities.
Barnett-Davies pleaded guilty to 21 counts of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, three counts of engaging in sexual communication with a child, 11 counts of distributing indecent images, and seven counts of possessing indecent, prohibited, and extreme images. Defence barrister Jac Brown highlighted that this was his client's first encounter with the criminal justice system and that the offences would define his life. However, Judge Daniel Williams condemned the defendant's 'deep rooted and entrenched sexual interest in the sexual abuse of young girls', stating: 'For day after day, month after month and year after year, you preyed on young girls online... You set out to damage your victims and to cause them unending harm.' The judge noted the trail of misery left behind, with victims self-harming and feeling humiliated.
The sentencing took place at Newport Crown Court, with Barnett-Davies receiving eight years' imprisonment plus an extended licence period of four years. He was also subjected to indefinite sex offender notification requirements, a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, and restraining orders for 15 years. This case underscores the dangers of online grooming and the severe consequences for those who exploit vulnerable children, as reported by Wales Updates.