Andrew Gold

Andrew Gold, a 41-year-old man previously from Tenby, has been jailed for engaging in devious and manipulative online sexual communications with who he thought was a 14-year-old boy. The case, heard at Swansea Crown Court, involved Gold contacting a decoy account posing as a teenager named Ryan between June and September 2023. What began as an innocent interaction on a dating app quickly escalated to explicit content on Snapchat, where Gold exploited the platform's disappearing messages feature to send illicit material.

According to evidence presented at trial, Gold sent a photograph of his penis to the 'boy' and requested images in return. He further described sexual acts he intended to perform and encouraged the minor to masturbate. Judge Catherine Richards, presiding over the case, described Gold's actions as 'determined and calculated', noting his deliberate choice of Snapchat to evade detection and his subsequent deletion of the account. Gold faced charges of attempted sexual communications with a child and attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity, for which he was found guilty on 2 July 2024.

The court was informed by prosecutor Georgia Donohue that Gold had prior relevant convictions, underscoring the seriousness of his behaviour. In mitigation, defence barrister Dyfed Thomas acknowledged the limited scope for defence, describing the offence as online in nature with only preliminary discussions about meeting that did not materialise. Thomas highlighted that Gold would benefit from the Horizon programme and that measures such as a sexual harm prevention order would mitigate public risk.

Judge Richards expressed grave concerns, stating, 'I’m sure there is a serious risk to young boys.' She sentenced Gold to a total of five years, comprising three years in custody and a two-year extended licence period. Additionally, Gold was ordered to register as a sex offender for life and made subject to an indefinite sexual harm prevention order. The case was investigated by Dyfed-Powys Police, who released an image of Gold in connection with the proceedings.