Crynant man jailed for child sex offences
A man from Neath Port Talbot has been jailed for sexual activity with a child.
25-year-old Liam Peat, from Crynant, claimed he did not know the real age of the victim, but first chatted to her via Snapchat when she was just 13.
He would have sexual intercourse with the victim after she had turned 14.
Peat changed his plea to two counts of engaging in penetrative sexual activity with a girl aged between 13 and 15 from not guilty to guilty at the beginning of his trial in May.
He has been sentenced to 45 months in prison.
Guilty plea
Detective Constable Annie Rees said: “Liam Peat maintained that he did not know the age of the victim up until the first day of his trial. However, changing his plea to guilty proves that he was well aware of her age and of the fact that what he was doing was illegal.
“This will have caused an immense level of trauma for the victim and her family. We hope that with this sentence they can come to terms with what Liam Peat has done and can begin to move on with their life.
“We never underestimate how difficult it is for survivors of sexual abuse to speak out and report.
But we hope cases like this one provide reassurance that victims will be listened to, treated with dignity and respect, and will be supported throughout the judicial process”
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Please note lack of violent right-wing protest.
I’m not going to sit here and in any way condone Mr Peat’s actions (it does appear to me that he broke the law and should be punished in accordance with the sentencing guidelines). What I would like to do is point to a problem with our justice system and an unfair comment from the detective, especially in such an emotive case. The detective states that changing to a guilty plea proves that he was well aware of her age and that he was well aware he knew he was doing something illegal. It doesn’t prove this at all. Men… Read more »