Couple planned brutal rape of young children, court hears

A Cardiff couple planned and fantasised about the “brutal” rape and sexual assault of young children under the age of 12, a court heard.

Stuart Compton, 46, and his partner Tracy Turner, 52, sent each other thousands of messages planning the depraved abuse of two girls and a boy.

Merthyr Crown Court heard their sick plan failed after an online dating app informed police of concerns about Compton and the pair were arrested.

Guilty

At an earlier hearing, the couple, who referred to each other as Bonnie and Clyde, both pleaded guilty to six counts of arranging sex with a child.

Compton also pleaded guilty to six counts of making indecent images, and Turner, who is a hospital operating assistant, admitted two counts of the same offence.

Matthew Cobbe, prosecuting, told the court their conversations demonstrated a “clear intent to arrange and commit sexual acts” with young children – although no child was ever abused.

“The first threads of messages suggested fantasy, they expressly talked about fantasy, but this developed into an obsession,” Mr Cobbe said.

“Their obsession drove them to discuss over and over the sexual acts that they intended to perform and the ways that they believed that they could achieve that goal.”

The prosecutor said they had been arranging the “brutal rape” of one of the children and had planned to drug the child to aid the abuse.

“They recognised the abuse for what it was, they recognised that it was rape,” he said.

“It was not a realisation that it would amount to rape, instead they were clearly stimulated by the fact that it was rape.

“Compton would press her whether she wanted to be present, she would confirm that she did and go on to confirm that she wanted to be involved.

“Compton claimed that he would accept all responsibility for the acts.

“The exchanges lasted months, they began as a fantasy but they became an obsession and an intended goal.”

Depraved sexual stories

The court heard that messages recovered by the police took weeks to go through because there was so many, and showed Compton was interested in children “aged one to six”.

“The examination of Compton’s device also demonstrated that he discussed sexual fantasies with others with a similar interest,” Mr Cobbe said.

“He would develop his own character in these conversations and personal circumstances, creating depraved sexual stories involving children.”

Referring to Turner, Mr Cobbe said “They exchange messages where they discuss the possibility of going to a festival or camping, so that they can be ‘around’ families with young children.

“Turner suggests a family festival, not too expensive.

“Compton thinks that is a ‘great idea’, commenting he’d like to go to a ‘hippy one, where lots of drugs consumed leaving unattended girls, great f****** idea that’s genius babe’.”

Compton appeared in the dock wearing a blue polo shirt, breathing heavily, wiping tears from his eyes.

Turner, wearing a grey zip jacket, held her head in her hands and sobbed throughout.

Compton, from Cathays, and Turner, 52, from Roath, both Cardiff, had denied a string of other offences, including conspiracy to murder, conspiracy to rape and conspiracy to kidnap – which were ordered to lie on the file.

‘Incomprehensible’

The mother of one of the young girls described in a victim impact statement how they had stopped trusting people after learning of Compton and Turner’s crimes.

“The decisions we make as parents are now different and lead to paranoia,” she said. “Some days it is very real and other days it is like a dream.

“We do not want this to define our family. We cannot undo this.”

The father of another girl described the defendants’ crimes as “incomprehensible”.

“I hope what they have done to me and my family stays with them for the rest of their lives,” he said.

His partner added: “Finding out about their crimes turned our world upside down.

“I have always had an open and honest relationship with my daughter. I am furious that I have had to lie to my child to protect her from these offences.”

Compton was arrested after an online dating app raised concerns about his conduct, with officers finding him at a pub in Cardiff.

He was taken to an unmarked police vehicle, where he denied the offence, suggesting the app had been hacked.

He also claimed he had left his phone at work, which was supported by Turner.

However, officers spoke with the pub manager, who handed a mobile over, saying Turner had given it to her and asked her to look after it.

On it were found numerous indecent images of children and messages with Turner.

Officers then searched Compton’s address and seized offensive weapons from the defendant’s bedroom, including a sharp-ended baton, a knuckle duster and a concealed blade.

The case continues.