On the night of 30 October 2024, Swansea University computer science student Evan Powell, aged 21, attended a fancy dress house party in the Brynmill area of Swansea before heading to bars on Wind Street in the city centre. Dressed as a character from the film Men in Black, Powell returned to the Brynmill area in the early hours of 31 October, where he entered three properties and attempted to enter a fourth, prowling the streets for opportunities to engage in non-consensual sexual activity.
In the first property, Powell entered a child's bedroom, rummaging through drawers, which woke the child. He then proceeded to the mother's bedroom, where she awoke to find him standing near her bed, watching her intently. Powell fled the house upon being spotted. At a nearby property, he entered another woman's bedroom, exposed his penis, and masturbated while staring at the sleeping victim. The woman woke, confronted him, leading to an altercation in the kitchen where she punched him and he pushed her before escaping. In a third property, the occupant was woken by the sound of the bedroom door opening, prompting Powell to run away. Police enquiries confirmed his unsuccessful attempt to enter a fourth home that night.
The incidents were reported to South Wales Police, who identified and arrested Powell. He claimed he was searching for his lost mobile phone from the earlier night out and denied any sexual motivation, insisting he was trying to locate the house party venue. However, at trial in April 2025 at Swansea Crown Court, a jury rejected his account and convicted him of three counts of trespassing with intent to commit a sexual offence and one count of attempted trespass with intent to commit a sexual offence.
The court heard of a prior incident in October 2023, where Powell sexually assaulted a young woman in Brynmill by following her, grabbing her, and placing his hands between her legs. This was handled via a community resolution, requiring an apology letter, but Judge Paul Thomas KC expressed regret that it was not prosecuted formally, noting the investigating officer failed to refer it to a senior rank as required. Prosecution barrister Dyfed Thomas had accused Powell of seeking sexual satisfaction from watching sleeping women, which Powell denied, describing the situation as 'very odd' and attributing it to his poor sense of direction.
Defence barrister Avirup Chaudhuri highlighted Powell's loving background, his youth, immaturity, and positive contributions in prison, such as aiding inmates' literacy. However, Judge Thomas described Powell's behaviour as 'extremely sinister' and noted his lack of insight into his problems, posing a high risk of future sexual offending. Powell, now residing in Rogerstone, Newport, received a nine-year extended sentence: five years' custody followed by four years on licence, with parole eligibility after two-thirds of the custodial term. He must register as a sex offender for life.
Senior Crown Prosecutor Carolina Mayorga-Williams stated: 'Waking up to find a stranger in your or your child’s bedroom must be a terrifying experience and violates a person’s right to feel safe in their own home. We take all allegations of sexual offending very seriously. The evidence presented by the Crown Prosecution Service resulted in the jury reaching their guilty verdicts and has brought Powell to justice.' This case underscores the severity of opportunistic sexual intrusions into private homes, as reported by Wales Online on 3 July 2025.