August 2019 ‘Predatory’ paedophile jailed after being caught in park near primary school A serial paedophile previously caught with a bottle of chloroform and roll of tape in his bag was stopped in a park near a school. Christian John, who is banned from more than 300 parks in Cardiff, was spotted in a recreational area where dozens of children were playing rugby. Sentencing him at Cardiff Crown Court Judge Eleri Rees said: “He is a predator. He has been for many years.” The court heard he was “loitering” at the park in Tonyrefail at around 1.30pm on May 21. Kathryn Lane, prosecuting, said: “The defendant has been the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for some time.” John was recognised by someone he had been to school with who became concerned when he saw him walking in the direction of a primary school five minutes away. Prosecutors said there were around 100 children in the park, who were playing rugby sevens, and the defendant “lingered” and threw a ball back as it approached him.  Ms Lane told the court John had 46 offences on his record including five sexual offences and 15 breaches of sexual offence orders. John, 43, from Lewis Street in Cardiff, is also known as John Christian Davies. The court heard he changed his name by deed poll. Judge Rees described him as devious and manipulative, adding: “He knows exactly what he is doing in these parks.” John was jailed for 16 months. Christian John’s record of offending February 1996 John is given a three-year probation order for indecently assaulting a boy.  July 1996 He breaches that order and is sent to a young offender institution for 18 months. February 1998 The defendant is jailed for 21 months for grabbing a child, pulling him towards a wooded area and telling him: “I want to shag you.” April 2004 John is jailed for 30 months for breaching a sexual offender order after being caught with a bottle of chloroform, syringe, roll of sticky tape, 10in knife, and camera in his bag. October 2006 He is given a 12-month community order for breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) by going within 15m of a school. September 2007 The defendant is jailed for 12 months for breaching the SHPO four times by being in a play area and having alcohol. May 2008 John is jailed for three months for another breach and possessing an offensive weapon. August 2008 He is given a community order for breaching a restraining order. October 2008 The defendant is jailed for 22 months for a further breach, this time being drunk and watching children in a park. January 2011 John approaches a young child and whispers in his ear in a public place. He is caught with a knife and a camera. May 2011 He is jailed for 75 days for four counts of making indecent images of children. March 2012 He is jailed for two years for sexual assault after grabbing a boy’s wrist and trying to kiss him. September 2015 He is jailed for two years for approaching an eight-year-old boy in the Mill Road park in Ely and saying: “You come with me now.” Judge Eleri Rees imposes a new order preventing him from going within 50m of any public recreational area in Cardiff – as defined by a list of more than 300 areas. July 2017 He is jailed for six months for breaching the SHPO in Roath Park. February 2018 The order is amended to allow him nearer specific parks to help the Probation Service to find him accommodation. June 2018 He is jailed for two years for loitering in Roath Park on a bike. February 2018 Paedophile banned from 300 parks has order changed to help him find a house A serial paedophile who was banned from going within 50m of any park or play area in Cardiff has had his order changed to help him find somewhere to live. John Christian Davies, 42, was jailed in September 2015 for two years for breaching a previous Sexual Harm Prevention Order by approaching an eight-year-old child in a city park. At that time Judge Eleri Rees imposed a new order preventing him from going within 50m of any public recreational area in Cardiff – as defined by a list of more than 300 areas. His case was listed at Cardiff Crown Court on Tuesday for an application to amend that order. The court heard the application was to help the Probation Service find accommodation for the defendant, who was previously known as Christian John. He does not currently have a fixed address. Judge Rees said she was “satisfied” as to the purpose of the application and amended the terms to allow him within 10m of several specified parks. She said the 50m restriction would remain in place regarding the other parks, play areas and green spaces. At his previous sentencing hearing Davies admitted approaching a frightened eight-year-old boy in the Mill Road park in Ely on an evening in May 2015. The court heard then that Davies sat and watched a group of children playing. He then said: “You come with me now.” The boy began to cry and another child phoned his mother who, with help from a passerby, managed to keep Davies at the park until police arrived. Prosecutors at that hearing said he had a long criminal record and had been before the courts for more than 40 previous offences. In 2004 he was jailed for 30 months after being caught with a bottle of chloroform, a syringe, a roll of sticky tape, a 10in knife, and a camera in his bag. He also has a conviction for indecent assaults on children dating back to 1996. In a previous court appearance, Judge David Wynn Morgan said: “You are a predatory paedophile presenting a significant danger to pre-pubescent males.” August 2015 Serial paedophile who approached boy, 8, is jailed and banned from 300 parks in Cardiff A vile paedophile has been jailed and banned from more than 300 parks in Cardiff. Christian John, 39, – who was once caught with a bottle of chloroform, a syringe, sticky tape, a 10in knife and a camera – has been jailed after breaching a previous sexual offences order. Earlier this year he admitted approaching an eight-year-old boy in a park but sentencing was adjourned for a list to be drawn up to determine which areas he would be banned from. Cardiff Crown Court heard how John, who was drunk at the time, approached the boy in Mill Road park in Cardiff in May and told the boy: “You come with me now.” The eight-year-old began crying, prompting another child to phone his mother The mother and a passerby managed to keep John at the park until police arrived. Today John’s barrister Nick Gedge argued that prohibiting John from entering hundreds of green areas of his own city was “disproportionate and infringes on his life”. “In his adult life he has always lived alone, and people who are alone are known to own dogs. “A blanket ban on going into parks in his home city would inhibit him from doing things like taking one for a walk.” But when judge Eleri Rees asked if John had ever owned a dog, Mr Gedge replied: “No.” Judge Rees added: “My concern is for the protection of children within the city.” The judge acknowledged that on this occasion there had been no actual touching of a child – and she said it was fortunate other children were there and had been able to raise the alarm. Sentencing John to two years’ imprisonment, she cited his long criminal record, which includes 27 previous convictions for 43 offences. Among them was a case in 2004 in which John was jailed for 30 months after being caught with chloroform, a syringe, tape, a knife and a camera in his bag. He also has a string of convictions for indecent assaults on children dating back to 1996. The new order also bans him from “loitering within 50 metres of or entering” any public recreational facility in Cardiff. July 2015 Serial paedophile in court again after telling 8-year-old boy ‘come with me’ Cardiff’s top judge has demanded police draw up a list of every play area in the city to stop a serial paedophile preying on young children. Recorder of Cardiff Eleri Rees issued the order after sex offender Christian John, 39, appeared in front of her accused of approaching an eight-year-old boy at a children’s play area and telling him, “come with me”. It is his latest breach of a Sexual Offences Prevention Order designed to protect children John is banned from parks in the city but his barrister claimed he could question what constituted “a park”, because the city was littered with green areas. Ordering the police to draw up the list of parks before she sentenced John, Judge Rees told the court: “The priority is for children to be in the park not him and they should be able to go there without being put in fear. “What we have here is a sexual predator. “Anyone who is a parent will want to know he is not allowed to enter even the smallest park.” In a previous case in 2004, John was jailed for 30 months after being caught with bottle of chloroform, a syringe, a roll of sticky tape, a 10-inch knife and a camera in his bag. At the time, a judge described him as a “predatory paedophile” after hearing he had a string of convictions including for indecent assault on a boy aged under 16 in 1996 and enticing a child to commit an act of gross indecency in 1998. In this case, John approached an eight-year boy in the Mill Road area of Ely in March. The child had been with a group of friends, some younger and some older, playing by some swings. John arrived “carrying a camouflage bag” and appeared drunk, speaking slowly as he asked if there were toilets there. “He sat down, took out what they thought was a bottle of Lambrini and sat, staring, before going over the eight-year-old and telling him ‘You come with me now’,” prosecutor Ian Kolvin told the court. “The child started to cry and was walked away by his friends.” Another child went to get his mother and she and a passer-by, tried closing the park gates and managed to keep John there until police arrived. Barrister Nicholas Gedge, defending, said this present breach was unlike another incident in 2012, when there was “prolonged contact” with a lone child before he was grabbed and an attempt was made to kiss him – an offence for which John was jailed for three years. This time, the boy was “not alone” and had older children with him. “That makes a difference”, he told Judge Rees. But the judge said she was not convinced it did lessen the breach, saying, “This was a group of children in a public park and they should have been safe there. He need not be in any park at all.” John was rehoused by the council in Tudor Street, Riverside following his most recent prison sentence and is now back in custody awaiting sentence. In Cardiff Crown Court yesterday, Judge Rees adjourned the hearing, telling barristers for both sides it was vital there was an agreed list of parks from which John was banned. She said: “We must get it right this time. “The police can draw up a lists of all the parks where children play.” She said apart from the obvious playgrounds there were smaller areas where children should be safe to enjoy themselves, mentioning Whitchurch, to the north of the city centre, where she was aware of “a few swings” behind the village library. “That is the kind of small park where parents think it is safe for their seven or eight-year olds to kick a ball around but (potentially) it is not. “I want of list where each area is defined,” she said. John will remain in custody until the list is compiled by South Wales Police with the help of the city council. Speaking after the court appearance, Labour councillor Susan Goddard, one of three councillors representing Ely, said John should not be able to question whether Mill Road was a park. She said: “Mill Road is a bowling green area that has been converted into a small park. It’s right next to a school. “How he can try and say it’s not a park, I don’t know. “We call it Mill Park. What is the definition of a park? Is it size? Is it equipment? I don’t know. “It’s used by people of all ages. It’s nowhere near the size of Victoria Park – it’s not that big. “It’s been made into a park in recent years, mostly due to local neighbours getting together and working for it. “I’m calling it a park.” April 2004 Paedophile ‘had chloroform in bag’ A paedophile found with a syringe and a bottle of chloroform claimed he used them to experiment on animals, Cardiff Crown Court has been told. Christian John, 28, told police officers he used the items for carrying out experiments on small animals. John, who admitted breaching a sex offender’s order, has previous convictions including indecent assault on a male under 16. Judge David Wynn Morgan jailed John for two-and-a-half years. Other items he had in a rucksack when he was arrested last October included a 10-inch knife and a camera. But the 28-year-old was banned from carrying a camera under the terms of a sex offender’s order imposed on him in a bid to protect the public, the court was told. Owen Williams, prosecuting, said an officer, who found John apparently drunk in a street in Dinas Powys in the Vale of Glamorgan, searched him and found the 10-inch kitchen knife in a pocket. John, from Cardiff, told officers in interview that he had forgotten he was not allowed to carry any photographic equipment, said Mr Williams. “He said he did not want to answer questions about the chloroform, but then said he sometimes conducted experiments on animals using chloroform,” said Mr Williams. You are a predatory paedophile presenting a significant danger to pre-pubescent males “He again said he used the syringe to carry out experiments by injecting chloroform into small rodents and squirrels.” John was made subject to the sex offender’s order last May. The condition banning John from carrying a camera was included because he had taken photographs of children at a playground and it was alleged he had been found with pictures of youngsters aged five to 12, the court was told. Jeremy Jenkins, defending, said: “It is all too easy to jump to conclusions.” He said the photographs developed from the two cameras had proved to be innocent pictures, showing John with his father and other family members at a pub and at The Gnoll, Neath’s rugby ground. The other items John was carrying “raised the eyebrow of suspicion,” said Mr Jenkins, but he added: “He is a person who, having been subject of an order, breaches it in a rather innocuous way by having a camera used for legitimate purpose.” Judge David Wynn Morgan said: “You are a predatory paedophile presenting a significant danger to pre-pubescent males. “Each of the terms of the order were carefully drafted and considered necessary for the protection of the public. “You have asserted you simply forgot you were not supposed to have a camera with you. This court does not believe you.”