Man jailed after sending sexual images to child he met on Snapchat

Nation.Cymru staff

A man from Neath Port Talbot has been jailed for almost four years after sending explicit images of himself to someone he believed was a 12-year-old girl.

Ashley John, 26, of Gwaun Cae Gurwen, used Snapchat in October 2024 to contact a profile he thought belonged to a child.

During their exchanges, John claimed to be a 17-year-old sheep farmer, before sending indecent images of himself and requesting sexual images in return.

He was charged with attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child, attempting to cause or incite a girl under 13 to engage in sexual activity, and attempting to cause a child under 13 to look at an image of sexual activity. Having initially denied all three offences, John changed his plea to guilty on 6 July.

He was sentenced to three years and ten months in prison.

Detective Inspector Hannah Millership said the case underlined the dangers children face online. “This sentence reflects the serious risk that sexual communication poses to children and their safety and well-being,” she said. “We will continue to pursue those who seek to exploit children online and take action to protect vulnerable young people.”

Anyone with concerns about online child sexual exploitation can contact South Wales Police or report anonymously via the NSPCC helpline on 0808 800 5000.

Concerns can also be reported to CEOP (Child Exploitation and Online Protection) at ceop.police.uk.

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