Nigel Yates

A 57-year-old man from Llechryd, Nigel Yates, has been sentenced to 42 months in prison for sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl on multiple occasions on Christmas Day 2022. The assaults took place in Llangrannog, and Yates appeared at Swansea Crown Court where he pleaded guilty to three offences of sexually assaulting a child.

Helen Randall, prosecuting, detailed that the victim did not disclose the abuse until she learned she would be returning to Yates' house. In a victim personal statement read in court, the girl's mother expressed ongoing shock, stating: 'I’m still very much in shock about what’s happened.' She noted that while the victim maintained a brave face, the trauma was evidently affecting her deeply.

During police interviews, Yates denied the offences and made disparaging remarks about the victim, though he later entered a guilty plea at the plea and trial preparation hearing. The court heard that Yates has a history of sexual offending, with four previous convictions comprising five offences: two counts of indecent assault on children in 2001, making indecent images of children in 2015, and failing to comply with sex offender notification requirements in 2015. Judge Huw Rees remarked on Yates' refusal to disclose his past convictions to others and addressed him directly, saying: 'You have persisted in displaying an unhealthy relationship in young girls.' The judge described Yates as having 'a deviant and unhealthy interest embedded in him for teenage and pre-pubescent girls.'

David Singh, defending, acknowledged the seriousness of the offences, particularly given Yates' prior convictions, but highlighted the guilty plea as mitigation. He mentioned Yates' long-term battle with alcohol addiction and his willingness to engage with probation services for targeted help. In addition to the custodial sentence, which runs concurrently for each count, Yates was made subject to a 10-year restraining order and a 10-year sexual harm prevention order. He is also required to register as a sex offender indefinitely.

The case was reported by the Western Telegraph, with court proceedings at Swansea Crown Court. Dyfed-Powys Police were involved in the investigation, as indicated by the imagery provided in the article.