AITHAN PHILIP JONES SENTENCED AT SWANSEA CROWN COURT FOR BREACHING SEXUAL OFFENCES CONDITIONS
Aithan Philip Jones, a known serial paedophile with a problematic history of online sexual offending, was caught with a concealed tablet computer in his room, a court has heard.The device was sold to him by another resident at the Swansea hostel where Jones was residing, and he had failed to inform the police about its presence.
The 25-year-old has a documented history of attempting to groom children online and violating court orders intended to control his behaviour.
During the hearing at Swansea Crown Court, a judge warned Jones that continued offending could lead to him being classified as a dangerous offender, resulting in considerably longer prison sentences.
Prosecutor Hannah George revealed that in 2020, Jones was found to be breaching a sexual harm prevention order by using multiple Facebook profiles to contact a young boy and attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual acts.
He was sentenced to 22 months in prison at Cardiff Crown Court.
After his release, he was placed in an approved hostel in Swansea.
The court was told that on June 7 this year, a search of Jones' room uncovered a tablet device that he had not disclosed to authorities.
The device was bought from another resident at the hostel for £60, although the vendor had not yet received payment.
The tablet featured a SIM card and had internet access.
Jones, of The Strand, Swansea, admitted to breaching the sexual harm prevention order.
He has four prior convictions for a total of ten offences, five of which are sexual offences.
Judge Geraint Walters stated that only immediate custody was appropriate and criticized the leniency of the previous sentence, suggesting it should have been twice as harsh.
The judge also warned that if Jones continued offending, he could eventually be deemed a dangerous offender.
Considering his guilty plea, the judge granted a one-third reduction from the sentence, and Jones was sentenced to 12 months in prison for breaching the SHPO.
Typically, he would serve up to half that term before being released on licence to complete his sentence in the community, but the court was informed that Jones has been recalled to prison to serve the remainder of his 2020 sentence, which will not be released until May 2022.
The judge clarified he lacked the authority to make this new sentence run concurrently with his existing imprisonment, so his overall prison time would not be extended.
