JOHN RYAN-GUESS: CARDIFF LAWYER AND SEXUAL PREDATOR SENTENCED FOR CHILD ABUSE AND ONLINE EXPLOITATION

John Ryan-Guess, a former legal professional who previously served as a lawyer for the Welsh Government, has been handed a severe sentence of 20 years in prison following his admission to a series of heinous crimes involving child exploitation. The court proceedings revealed that Ryan-Guess was responsible for 37 separate charges, which included sexual assault, the creation and distribution of indecent images of children, and conspiring to aid a police officer in the commission of child sex abuse.

The investigation uncovered that Ryan-Guess had established contact with a police officer named Dean Roberts through an online chat platform called Kik. During their communications, Ryan-Guess confessed to sharing thousands of explicit images depicting children, as well as live streams of child abuse. He openly admitted to having an enduring interest in young girls, stating that he had been attracted to them throughout his entire life and found them sexually arousing.

Prosecutor James Wilson described Ryan-Guess as a man who had fallen from a position of respectability, noting that he was no longer employed by the Welsh Government at the time of his arrest. The evidence presented in court painted a disturbing picture of a man deeply involved in the circulation of child abuse material, with explicit content involving minors being shared among online groups.

The presiding judge, Recorder Eleri Rees, characterized Ryan-Guess as a 'sexual predator.' She emphasized that his criminal activities had escalated from voyeuristic behaviors to actual physical contact, warning that if he had not been apprehended, it was only a matter of time before he would have committed a child rape. The judge’s comments underscored the severity of his predatory conduct and the danger he posed to society.

Among the victims' families was a mother who expressed her anguish and torment, revealing that she felt 'tormented' by the knowledge that her daughter had been targeted by Ryan-Guess. The young girl is currently undergoing therapy to help her cope with the trauma inflicted upon her.

Further complicating the case was the involvement of Dean Roberts, a police officer who was sentenced to 12 years in prison for crimes including the rape of a toddler and multiple indecent assaults. Evidence showed that Roberts had discussed abusing a girl with Ryan-Guess, and that images of her had been shared online among the offenders. Roberts was identified as a dangerous individual and a significant threat to the public, highlighting the disturbing breach of trust and the severity of the crimes committed.

The investigation into these crimes uncovered a trove of disturbing evidence, prompting authorities to call for stricter controls over social media platforms to prevent such abuse from proliferating. The case serves as a stark reminder of the ongoing issues surrounding online child exploitation, the sharing of abusive material within offender networks, and the urgent need for enhanced safeguards to protect vulnerable children from predatory individuals.