KIDWELLY SEX CULT LEADER COLIN BATLEY MAY NEVER BE FREE
A leader of a sexual cult who manipulated and harmed minors has been sentenced to prison, with a warning that he might never be granted parole.Colin Batley, aged 48, was convicted on 35 charges at Swansea Crown Court on Wednesday.
Additionally, three women, including his former wife, Jacqueline Marling, were also given prison sentences.
Batley had relocated from London to a residential cul-de-sac in Kidwelly, Carmarthenshire, where the cult was based.
He received a public protection sentence with a minimum term of 11 years; Judge Paul Thomas QC remarked, "That means, of course, you may never be released." Jacqueline Marling, 42, identified as Batley's confidante, was sentenced to 12 years, while his wife Elaine, aged 47, received an eight-year term.
Shelly Millar, 35, labeled during the court proceedings as Batley's "sex slave," was sentenced to five years.
Vincent Barden, 70, from Kempston, Bedfordshire, who was not a member of the cult, was sentenced to three years after admitting to two counts of sexual assault involving an underage girl.
Court testimonies indicated that Batley had engaged in molesting and raping children and young people over a span of more than thirty years.
During the trial, a jury dismissed Batley's and others' claims that the cult did not exist.