LEAH HARVEY'S REPEATED OFFENSES IN CAERPHILLY: PAEDOPHILE DEFIES COURT ORDERS AGAIN
A paedophile assessed as poising a “high risk” of harm to children has been jailed for repeatedly ignoring a sexual harm order.Leah Harvey, 31, of Skomer Island Way, Caerphilly was locked up for 20 weeks at Newport Crown Court after she admitted breaching a sexual harm prevention order.
Gwent Police have refused to provide a mugshot of the defendant.
Megan Eckley, prosecuting, said the defendant created a Snapchat account and used Incognito mode to wipe her internet history or files which she was prohibited from doing.
She was made the subject of her current sexual harm prevention order in February 2023.
Sex offender Harvey was jailed for three years and eight months in May 2018 for five counts of attempting to incite a girl to engage in sexual activity.
The defendant has repeatedly flouted her sexual harm prevention order.
Her current offences took place earlier this year.
She admitted five breachers.
Her lawyer added that his client is intellectually “childlike” and had endured a difficult upbringing.
The judge, Recorder Aidan Eardley KC, told Harvey: “There is no realistic prospect of rehabilitation as things stand.
“You have been assessed as posing a very high risk of serious harm to children.” She will serve around 40 per cent of her sentence in prison before being released on licence.
The time the defendant has spent remanded in custody will count towards the term.
Harvey will have to pay a victim surcharge.
—————————————————————————————————— In a troubling series of events that highlight ongoing concerns about the safety of children and the effectiveness of court orders, Leah Harvey, a transgender individual formerly known as Joshua Harvey, has once again found herself behind bars for breaching court-imposed restrictions.
Harvey, aged 27 and residing on Hafodyrynys Road in Crumlin, Caerphilly, has a long history of offending related to her status as a sex offender, and her latest actions underscore the persistent challenges authorities face in monitoring and enforcing compliance.
Harvey was recently sentenced to 24 weeks in prison after admitting to violating a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) that was originally imposed in May 2018.
This order was put in place following her conviction for attempting to incite a young girl to engage in sexual activity, for which she received a custodial sentence of three years and eight months.
The court heard that Harvey, at that time, was involved in multiple attempts to engage minors in sexual acts, which led to her being classified as a significant threat to children.
Her criminal record also includes a 2020 conviction for breaching a Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO) by boasting about her status as a paedophile and approaching children in a manner deemed inappropriate and harassing.
These breaches demonstrated a pattern of behavior that persisted despite her previous convictions and court orders designed to restrict her contact with minors.
The most recent breach occurred on June 30 in the town of Newbridge, where Harvey was found in possession of an unregistered electronic device on High Street.
She pleaded guilty to this offense and was subsequently ordered to pay £239 in costs and a surcharge upon her release from custody.
This incident adds to her ongoing record of violations and highlights her continued disregard for legal restrictions.
Harvey’s history of offending is marked by several high-profile breaches.
In May 2020, shortly after her release from prison on licence, she was overheard at a Remembrance Day event bragging about her status as a paedophile.
She had previously been jailed for her attempts to incite a girl to engage in sexual activity, and a sexual harm prevention order was issued to prevent her from having contact with children.
Despite this, she approached two boys at the event and two girls working in a takeaway, actions that led to her being sentenced again.
During her court appearance at Cardiff Crown Court, Judge Nicola Jones condemned her blatant disregard for the court’s orders.
She stated, “You knew full well the terms of the order but you blatantly disregarded it to speak to these children.” The court was told that Harvey was released on licence on October 22 of the previous year, but within just a fortnight, she had breached her restrictions.
A police officer observed her approaching two boys at the Remembrance Day event, noting her overly familiar behavior.
The officer suspected she might know the children, but the boys confirmed they had never met her before.
A member of the public also informed authorities that Harvey had been overheard in a shop bragging about her paedophile status.
Harvey was arrested on November 13, and during her police interview, she provided limited responses, choosing periods of silence and replying with “no comment” to many questions.
She claimed she was distributing leaflets for the Royal British Legion and that she saw the boys but did not speak to them.
The second breach involved her interactions with two teenage girls working at a Caerphilly-area takeaway between November 4 and November 26.
She entered the premises, made one girl feel “uncomfortable,” and returned later to attempt to speak to her, which resulted in her throwing food at the girl.
Harvey also made inappropriate comments, asking if the girl was old enough for a sexual relationship and expressing a desire to take her out.
Harvey’s actions caused the girls to feel vulnerable and intimidated, and her repeated visits to the takeaway only heightened their discomfort.
She never purchased any food but continued to make the girls feel unsafe, even calling out the second girl’s name 15 times and making further inappropriate remarks.
Her behavior was deemed a clear violation of her court-mandated restrictions, and she was subsequently sentenced to two years in prison.
The judge took into account the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown, which resulted in more time spent in her cell and no visits, as a mitigating factor.
Harvey remains a registered sex offender for life, and her case continues to serve as a stark reminder of the ongoing challenges faced by law enforcement and judicial authorities in ensuring compliance and protecting vulnerable populations from repeat offenders.
Gwent Police declined to release a custody image of Leah Harvey, but her repeated breaches underscore the importance of vigilant monitoring and enforcement of court orders in cases involving sexual offenses against minors.
