July 2023 Convicted paedophile grabs teen on street and sexually assaults her A convicted paedophile with “no concept of sexual restraint” sexually assaulted a 16-year-old girl he approached in the street by touching her breasts and vagina and forcibly kissing her. After the assault, he grabbed hold of her mobile and entered his phone number. Jonathan Swift, 34, approached his young victim in Caerphilly at around 5.45pm on April 9. She did not know the defendant, who asked her for a lighter. He went on to ask her if she was single, and when being told she was 16-years-old he told her she looked older and lied about his own age. A sentencing hearing at Cardiff Crown Court heard Swift followed her before grabbing her hand and pulling her onto a bench. She tried to get up and leave but he grabbed her and kissed her. The victim pushed him away and told him she needed to go home. The defendant pulled her back onto the bench and kissed her on the lips, forcibly putting his tongue in her mouth. Prosecutor Ffion Tomos said Swift then put his hands down her top and touched her breasts as the victim continued to struggle. He then exposed his penis for two to three minutes and asked the girl if they could “go somewhere more discreet”. A passer by walked past, and the defendant put his penis away. He then placed his hands down her trousers and began sexually assaulting her. The victim later described the attack as “painful” and pulled his hand out of her trousers. Swift asked her to come to his house, but she again repeated she wanted to go home and tried to walk away The defendant kept trying to pull her back, asked her if she was on Snapchat before grabbing her phone and entered his mobile phone into the device. Eventually, the victim managed to escape and raised the alarm by messaging a friend. The police were called and Swift, of Snowden Court, was arrested the next day and interviewed, claiming he was drunk and sexual contact was consensual. He later pleaded guilty to assault by penetration and sexual assault. The court heard the defendant was convicted of sexual assault in 2010, when he attacked a woman at a bus stop. He later breached a Sexual Harm Prevention Order by approaching a 13-year-old and he was sentenced to seven years imprisonment in 2017 for sexual activity with a child under 16, who he had sex with in an alleyway. He was on licence at the time of the current offence. In a victim personal statement read to the court, the 16-year-old victim said: “Since the incident it has completely ruined my independence and confidence. I never leave the house alone when I go out and make sure I am with friends because I am in constant fear it could happen again at any time. I have lost all trust with anyone I do not know. I used to be able to go out with friend without thinking of being attacked by a stranger. I constantly need to keep myself busy to take my mind off what happened that day. “Sometimes in school I lose focus on my work as my memory takes me back to that horrible incident. The trauma even affects my sleep, before bed when I am trying to drift off I get flashbacks from the incident and it’s like I’m reliving it. I constantly look over my shoulder when I am out and I am worried I will be attacked again. No teenager should go through what I have gone through. I am happy the man who did this to me is in prison, I think that’s where he should stay. He’s a dangerous man and I do not want him to do this to others.” Sentencing, Judge Lucy Crowther said: “You don’t have any understanding of the impact of your offending. You said you are not attracted to young females despite your offending history. You have sought to minimise and justify your behaviour on this occasion in exactly the same way you have before… “You are a sexual predator and you pose a significant risk of serious harm to members of the public, specifically young girls and young women… You are a dangerous offender.” Swift was sentenced to eight years imprisonment, with an extended licence period of six years. He will serve two thirds of the custodial sentence before he is considered for parole. The defendant was also made subject to a restraining order for 30 years and remains subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and sex offender notification requirements for life. January 2015 Judges dismiss appeal by ‘dangerous’ pervert who had sex with a young schoolgirl A “dangerous” pervert who had sex with a young girl he chatted up on a bus deserved every day of his latest prison sentence, top judges have ruled. Jonathan Swift, 26, had been hanging around Newport’s bus station last March and made a beeline for the youngster, who was under 16, when he saw her on a bus. Swift, of Canon Street, Newport, took her to a secluded spot where they had sex but was soon in court when the youngster complained of having been raped. Swift admitted sexual activity with a child and breaching a previously imposed sexual offences prevention order. Last July, he was given a seven-year prison sentenced with three years of extended licence, at Cardiff Crown Court. He appealed, but was today told by three of the country’s top judges that the sentence was fully justified. Mr Justice Globe said it was the third time Swift had been in court after allegations made by teenage girls. One of those had resulted in acquittal, but in 2010 he admitted a sexual assault on a 16-year-old he met at a bus station. Sentencing him last year, the crown court judge said he was convinced that Swift was a “dangerous” offender. But Swift’s lawyers today challenged that finding, arguing that there was not sufficient evidence to suggest he poses a risk of serious harm. It was argued that the judge had come to the wrong decision because he had taken account of the allegations of which Swift was acquitted in 2007. Rejecting the complaints at the Court of Appeal, Mr Justice Globe, Lord Justice Beatson and Mrs Justice Swift rejected the appeal and said the sentence was deserved. “The custodial period of seven years was well within the sentencing range for the offence and, given the aggravating factors, such a period remains fully justified,” said Mr Justice Globe. “It cannot possibly be regarded as manifestly excessive. “In relation to dangerousness, there was abundant evidence to justify such a finding. “The circumstances of the sexual offending were extremely serious. “Even restrained by the existence of the sexual offences prevention order, he went on to commit the sexual offence. “That is demonstration of how he is incapable of avoiding the temptation of sexually engaging with young girls.” July 2014 Newport man, who the judge said was ‘without sexual restraint’ gets 10 years’ jail for sex with 13-year-old girl A NEWPORT sex offender with “no concept of sexual restraint” was sentenced to 10 years behind bars for having sex with a child under the age of 16 and breaching a sexual offences prevention order. Jonathan Swift, 25, of Canon Street, Newport, was previously found guilty at Cardiff Crown Court of engaging in sexual activity with a 13-year-old girl in the Malpas area of the city on Saturday, March 1 but not guilty of rape. Judge Tom Crowther QC said today at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court that Swift had “damaged” the girl due to his lack of sexual restraint. He sentenced Swift to 10 years imprisonment, an extended sentence for the harm he had caused. The father-of-two will not be eligible for parole until he has served four years and eight months. Judge Crowther QC told the court that Swift had been “loitering looking for women, young women” when he met his 13-year-old victim on a bus. He said “the balance of power” was in Swift’s favour and he should have had nothing to do with her. Judge Crowther QC added: “Following it [the sexual activity], she was very much upset and since then has tried to take an overdose and cut her wrists. This is a child who has been damaged by what you did.” Swift was also found guilty of breaching a sexual prevention order given to him in May 2010 after admitting a sexual assault on a 16-year-old girl. He was banned from approaching, speaking to, or being with any child who were not family members, for 10 years. The jury in Swift’s trial previously heard from another girl Swift had chatted to on a bus who claimed he subsequently sexually assaulted her after getting off at her stop. Judge Crowther QC added: “It’s plain to me that you have no concept of sexual restraint and you are prepared to use force to those who do not consent.” He was given a new sexual offences prevention order banning him from having any unsupervised contact with any child under 16 or living in the same household as a child under the age of 16 without approval, indefinitely.