A father from west Wales has been imprisoned after police discovered a shocking collection of child sexual abuse material on his device, including a detailed 'paedophile manual' that outlined methods for targeting and exploiting young children.
Jason Rhydian Church, aged 40, was sentenced at Swansea Crown Court following a police raid on his family home in Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire, on 23 August 2023. Officers from Dyfed-Powys Police executed a search warrant based on intelligence indicating that indecent images had been downloaded to a device linked to the property. Upon arrival at around 7:15am, Church immediately admitted to possessing the material on his Samsung phone, leading to his arrest. A welfare check was conducted on his wife, who was left in shock by the events.
Forensic examination of the seized phone and its SD memory card revealed more than 39,000 images and video clips depicting the sexual abuse of children and babies as young as two months old. This included 2,688 Category A images, the most severe classification, with some showing the attempted rape of an infant girl aged between two and four months. In addition to the images, investigators uncovered a 170-page document titled How to Practice Child Love, stored on the device. The manual provided step-by-step instructions for adults on how to find, groom, and engage in sexual activity with children from the age of two upwards. It claimed there were 'no good arguments' against such acts and was purportedly based on 'advanced child psychology and research'. Specific advice included targeting single mothers lacking self-confidence who might welcome a new relationship, and suggestions like acquiring a pet to attract children.
During his police interview, Church admitted to downloading the indecent images. He had no previous convictions and had pleaded guilty to three counts of possession of indecent images of children and one count of possession of a 'paedophile manual' under section 69 of the Serious Crime Act 2015. In mitigation, his barrister, Regan Walters, noted that Church had cooperated with authorities and sought help from the Lucy Faithfull Foundation, a charity focused on preventing child sexual abuse. Walters attributed the behaviour to depression since 2019, exacerbated by alcohol consumption during the Covid-19 pandemic, which led to the loss of his managerial job in a timber frame business.
Judge Huw Rees described the material as a 'harrowing experience for right-thinking people' but a 'source of base, crude sexual preoccupation' for Church. He emphasised that the children in the images were real victims being abused to satisfy 'degenerate and lustful demands', and stated that Church posed 'a risk and a danger to children'. With a one-third discount for his guilty pleas, Church received a total sentence of 22 months' imprisonment: 16 months for possession of the indecent images and six months consecutively for the manual. He will serve up to half in custody before release on licence. Additionally, he was placed on the sex offenders' register for 10 years and made subject to a sexual harm prevention order for the same period.
The case was reported by Wales Online, with court details provided by prosecuting barrister Ashanti-Jade Walton. Dyfed-Powys Police led the investigation, highlighting the dangers posed by such material in online environments.