Swansea man jailed after engaging in sexual communications with ‘teenager’

A man from Swansea has been jailed after he was caught exchanging sexual messages with a decoy account on social media which he believed belonged to a 14-year-old girl.

58-year-old Gareth Davies, from the Maritime Quarter, took part in the conversations between November and December 2024.

He later attempted to make plans to meet the “girl” in person but was confronted by the operators of the decoy account in December before being arrested.

Despite pleading not guilty to attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child in January, Davies was found guilty in May. He has been sentenced to 18 months in prison.

‘Extremely concerning’

Detective Sergeant Grant Phillips from South Wales Police said: “The comments made by Gareth Davies to the decoy were extremely concerning and it is incredibly fortunate that this was a decoy and not a real child.

“It is clear that he poses a continued risk to children. Therefore, the only suitable outcome was for him to go to prison.”