PAEDOPHILE TAILED FOUR-YEAR-OLD AROUND ALDI THEN SEXUALLY ASSAULTED HIM
Matthew Thomas, 29, followed the victim and his family around the supermarket in a "planned and persistent" manner and waited for his grandfather to look in the other direction before touching his grandson.He followed a four-year-old around Aldi and touched his bottom before grabbing and pinching his shorts.
CCTV footage from inside the supermarket showed him touch the boy on "a number of occasions" over about 12 minutes while the family was shopping.
Thomas did not buy anything and left the shop to wait outside.
The child's grandfather noticed the boy was separated from him and had been called out for, with the boy demonstrating Thomas pinching and pulling his shorts.
The victim's mother stated that the impact of the incident would likely be lifelong, causing sleepless nights and increased fear for her family.
Julia Cox, representing Thomas, said he has remorse and had a difficult childhood, including witnessing domestic violence and being exploited, with learning difficulties and mental disorders.
Thomas, of Dewstow Road in Caldicot, had a previous conviction in 2024 at Cardiff Crown Court for sexual assault of a male child under 13 and exposure in a food store in Cwmbran.
He was sentenced to 18 months in prison and given a sexual harm prevention order and a restraining order against the victim.
