Paedophile sent videos of himself performing sex act to someone he thought was 13

A paedophile sent videos of himself performing a sex act to someone he thought was a 13-year-old girl – but he was speaking to an undercover member of the police force. He also asked the decoy for naked images of herself.

Hywell Hardman, 31, of Bridgend, sent messages to the decoy on Snapchat between February 8 and 13 this year using an account with a false name. He claimed to be 17 years old and the decoy told him she was just 13.

A sentencing hearing at Newport Crown Court on Thursday heard the defendant asked the decoy for a picture and an image of a girl aged about 13 was sent back. He said he would like to see more photos of her while she was in school and asked her about the color of her underwear.

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Prosecutor Matthew Comer said Hardman asked the decoy for naked pictures and to send intimate images of herself. He sent photographs and videos of himself which included his penis of her and of him performing a sex act. The language used was sexual in nature.

Hardman, of Stormy Down, was arrested and later pleaded guilty for attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and attempting to cause/incite a child to watch an image of sexual activity. The court heard he was of previous good character.

In mitigation Ruth Smith said her client left school with no qualifications and had difficulty in the past with bullying. He was in a relationship when he carried out the offenses and is a father-of-two who now only has supervised contact with his children.

Sentencing, Judge Daniel Williams said the offenses were “too serious to be dealt with by anything other than an immediate custodial sentence.” Hardman was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment and was made subject to sex offender notification requirements and a sexual harm prevention order for 10 years.

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