November 2020 Paedophile with ‘degenerate and deviant sexual needs’ jailed again for abusing young girls A paedophile is back behind bars for sexually abusing young girls just months after being released from his previous sentence. Graham Harry John Rogers’ new victim came forward after reading about him in the papers – and during the course of their investigation police also found a second new victim. Swansea Crown Court heard the first new victim had reported the assault to the authorities at the time of the abuse – more than 20 years ago – but the Crown Prosecution Service had decided not to charge Rogers because of a lack of corroborating evidence, something that “perhaps reflects the approach at the time”. Sending him down, a judge told the 66-year-old defendant he had “selfish, degenerate and deviant sexual needs”, and only a sentence of immediate custody was appropriate. Jim Davis, prosecuting, said in May 2018 Rogers was sentenced to four years sexually assaulting a young girl, and taking pictures of the abuse on his phone. After reading about the defendant in the press, a woman abused by the defendant when she was a teenager went to police and asked them to look again at what had happened to her. The court heard Rogers had touched the then-girl’s genitals over her clothing, and “gouged” her with his thumb leaving her privates bruised and cut. In the course of re-investigating that complaint, officers found another girl he had also abused – this offence had seen Rogers touching the breasts of a girl aged six or seven. Mr Davis said the first victim had reported the incident to her mother and then to the police, but the prosecuting authorities decided there was no realistic prospect of conviction without corroborating evidence, something that “perhaps reflects the approach at the time”. In their impact statements which were read to court, the victims described how the abuse they had suffered had robbed them of their childhoods and blighted their whole lives, leaving them withdrawn, troubled, and distrustful of men. Rogers, of Tirgof, Llangennech,  Llanelli, had previously pleaded guilty to two counts of indecent assault of a child when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. Judge Huw Rees said it was clear Rogers had an “enduring sexual interest in children”, and had “selfish, degenerate and deviate sexual needs”. He said the defendant had “slyly” taken his opportunities to abuse the girls, actions which display the hallmarks of a paedophile. The judge said he had listened carefully to submissions made on the defendant’s behalf but the offending was so serious only immediate custody was appropriate. Giving Rogers credit for his guilty pleas he sentenced him to a total of five-and-a-half years in prison. The defendant will serve up to half of that period in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community. Rogers will be on the sex offenders register for the rest of his life. May 2018 63-year-old man took photos of himself abusing young girl A 63-year-old man who “systematically” sexually assaulted a young girl took pictures of the abuse on his mobile phone, a court has heard. A judge said he had no doubt that if Graham Harry John Rogers’ young victim had not had the courage to tell her mum what was happening, the abuse what have continued – and probably have become “more adventurous”. Swansea Crown Court heard the girl’s ordeal lasted for more than 18 months – and has left her suffering with nightmares about what happened. Craig Jones, prosecuting, said the sexual assaults involved Rogers touching the girl’s genitals. The offending only stopped when the girl told her mum what had been going on. The prosecutor said Rogers initially denied the allegations, and showed “little facial reaction and did not seem particularly upset” when arrested by police. However, that changed when forensic experts were able to recover deleted close-up photographs from his mobile phone showing him sexually assaulting the girl. Mr Jones said police uncovered a total of 34 indecent images of the abuse of a prepubescent girl from his HTC phone – 26 of category C, and eight of the more extreme category B. When confronted with this new evidence, Rogers was said to be “shocked” – though the prosecutor said that could have been shock at the fact that the deleted photos had been found. Rogers, of Tirgof, Llangennech, Llanelli, had previously pleaded guilty to five counts of sexually assaulting a girl under 13, and to two counts of making indecent images of a child when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. In an impact statement read to the court, the girl’s mum described the recent events as “like a nightmare” from which she could not wake up. The mother added that her daughter used to be a “happy, smiling child” who now wakes up in the middle of the night in tears, having relived the abuse in her dreams. Giving Rogers a discount for his guilty plea the judge sentenced him to four years in prison for each of the five sexual assault cases, 12 months for making the category B images, and eight months for category C images, all the sentences to run concurrently – at the same time – making a total of four years in prison. He will serve half that time in prison before being released on licence. Rogers will also be on the sex offenders register for the rest of his life, and was made the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order to limit his access to young girls.