KEVIN EARDLEY, ABERYSTWYTH PAEDOPHILE, REPEATEDLY FAILED TO NOTIFY POLICE OF STAYS IN HOMES WITH CHILDREN
Sex offender Kevin Eardley, also known as Kevin Jones, admitted to police that he had 'forgotten' about his legal obligation to notify authorities if he planned to stay overnight in a residence where a child lived.A court heard that the 55-year-old, who has a history of sexual offenses and has been on the sex offenders register for life, repeatedly failed to update the police about his overnight stays in homes with minors.
Eardley, who was released from prison, was required to inform police if he was spending more than 12 hours at such addresses, but he went three times to stay with families with children without making the necessary notifications.
This prevented authorities from informing the families involved.
When police located him living in a tent in Aberystwyth, he explained that he had "forgotten" about the notification requirement.
He refused to appear in the courtroom for his sentencing at Swansea Crown Court.
Judge Geraint Walters described his conduct as a "disturbing example of deliberate and repeated non-compliance" with the sex offender notification regime, suggesting Eardley had been "playing cat and mouse with the authorities." The court was told that Eardley had previously been convicted in 2012 at Caernarfon Crown Court of 13 sexual offenses involving young girls and had been placed on the sex offenders register for life.
As part of his registration duties, he must notify police of his residence and any stays at addresses where children are present.
Prosecutor Megan Jones explained that the first breach occurred in December 2020 when Eardley, then living in Holyhead under the alias Kevin Jones, stayed with a fishing friend who had three young children.
The friend was unaware of Eardley's past until a visit when he discovered a letter addressed to Kevin Eardley and later learned of his true identity online.
After this revelation, Eardley moved to Aberystwyth.
The second breach took place in November 2021, when Eardley traveled from Holyhead to Northamptonshire and arrived uninvited at a woman’s house he met on Instagram, staying for two nights with her and her four-year-old daughter before being asked to leave.
The third incident occurred shortly afterward when Eardley stayed with a woman from an online fishing community.
He had her print a photograph—claimed by him to be of his child—on a mug and a clock.
In fact, the photograph was of the woman’s own daughter in Northamptonshire.
Authorities were alerted and located Eardley living in a tent.
He claimed he had "forgotten" his obligation to notify police about his stays in residences with minors.
Eardley, of Bow Street near Aberystwyth, had previously pleaded guilty to three counts of failing to comply with notification requirements.
He opted not to appear in the dock, choosing to remain in his cell during proceedings.
Defense lawyer Dean Pulling stated that Eardley had been released in 2016 and had properly registered his address at that time.
He argued that these recent offenses were his first non-compliance, which was only related to not informing police about his visits, not about his current location.
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Pulling also claimed that the photograph on the mug was provided by the Northamptonshire girl’s mother, a statement the woman denies, asserting the mug was meant as a gift.
Judge Walters condemned Eardley’s actions as "deliberate and repeated non-compliance" and suggested he had been "playing cat and mouse with the authorities." Taking into account guilty pleas, Eardley was sentenced to two years in prison, with up to half to be served before he is released on license to complete his sentence in the community.
The judge also noted that the court had failed to impose a sexual harm prevention order in 2012, which he considered a "sentencing oversight." Although the court could not enforce such an order now, he strongly recommended that prosecutors seek one through civil courts, which could serve a similar purpose.
