Sex Offender Jamie Paul Roberts Jailed for Hiding Vulnerable Children and Grooming Behaviour
Jamie Paul Roberts, also known as Jamie Whelan, a 35-year-old man from Skewen, Neath, has a long history of sexual offences and was recently sentenced at Swansea Crown Court for breaching a sexual harm prevention order. The court heard details of two alarming incidents involving vulnerable teenagers from children's care homes, which Judge Paul Thomas QC described as 'sexually-motivated grooming behaviour' posing a serious risk of harm to children.
The first incident occurred in the early hours of 21 December 2021. South Wales Police were alerted that a teenage boy and girl had failed to return to their respective care homes in Swansea by their curfew the previous night. Officers traced the missing youngsters to Roberts' flat in Skewen. At 3.40am, despite initial reluctance, Roberts answered the door, claiming he had been asleep despite being fully clothed. A search of the property revealed a pile of bedding and clothes obscuring a wardrobe in his bedroom. Upon moving the items and opening the wardrobe, police discovered the two teenagers hiding inside. The children were returned to their care homes, and Roberts was arrested.
In his police interview, Roberts provided a prepared statement claiming the teenagers had asked him to hide them and that they had consumed cocaine and amphetamine. He was released under investigation at the time. Kevin Jones, prosecuting, outlined how Roberts was subject to a sexual harm prevention order following a prior conviction for child abduction in 2021, for which he had received a two-year community order. That offence involved a young boy staying at his property in defiance of a police-issued child abduction warning notice, prompted by concerns from the boy's father about Roberts' relationship with his son.
- Roberts' criminal history includes 19 previous convictions for 22 offences, starting with an indecent assault on a girl in public toilets on a beach when he was a juvenile.
- In 2005, he was convicted at Swansea Crown Court of breaching a sexual harm prevention order.
- A similar conviction followed in 2007 at Stratford Crown Court.
The second incident took place on 28 February 2022, involving the same teenage boy from the first event and another male youth, both living in care. Roberts met the boys at Swansea railway station and took them back to his Skewen flat. There, the group drank alcohol, and the teens smoked cannabis. Roberts suggested obtaining amphetamine, stating it 'makes you really horny', according to court proceedings. An argument ensued around 4am, leading Roberts to chase the boys out, reportedly at knife-point. One boy contacted his care home, and staff collected him. Roberts was arrested again and admitted arranging to meet one boy but claimed surprise at the second youth's presence.
Ian Ibrahim, defending, described Roberts' troubled background: taken into care at age four, medicated with anti-psychotic drugs, moved through 10 foster families and five homes, bullied at school, and later diagnosed with personality disorder, ADHD, OCD, and depression. He also suffered a serious assault in Cardiff's Bute Park and was a victim of 'cuckooing' by a drugs gang in his Neath flat.
Despite this, Judge Thomas imposed a custodial sentence, stating Roberts' actions clearly indicated grooming. With a one-quarter discount for guilty pleas, Roberts received three-and-a-half years for the breach, plus six months consecutively for the re-sentenced child abduction, totalling four years in prison. He will serve up to half in custody before release on licence. The case was reported by Wales Online on 2 May 2022, based on Swansea Crown Court proceedings.