MERVYN DAVIES FROM EBBW VALE JAILED FOR CHILD PORNOGRAPHY IN GWENT

In September 2018, a disturbing case emerged involving Mervyn Davies, a 40-year-old man from Ebbw Vale, who was sentenced to 20 months in prison after being found guilty of possessing a large collection of child sexual abuse images. The case was heard at Newport Crown Court, where it was revealed that Davies had accumulated over 1,000 indecent images and videos depicting children being sexually exploited.

The authorities' investigation uncovered that Davies’s computer contained a disturbing assortment of images, including 15 classified as Category A, which are considered the most severe and explicit forms of child abuse. Additionally, there were 66 images categorized as B and a staggering 970 images classified as C. The images depicted victims, predominantly young girls, some under 18 months old, and others up to 14 years of age. The evidence indicated that nearly half of these images involved children under the age of 18 months, highlighting the severity and depravity of the material stored on his device.

Prosecutor Peter Donnison detailed that Davies had a prior conviction for indecent exposure, which involved exposing himself to a young girl. This previous conviction added to the gravity of his current charges. The police, specifically Gwent Police's high-tech crime unit, executed an early morning raid on Davies’s residence on Garfield Terrace in Ebbw Vale, where he lived with his girlfriend. During the search, officers discovered an additional 2,500 images suspected to be indecent, although these were not formally categorized because they had already surpassed the threshold for charges.

Davies pleaded guilty to three counts of possessing indecent images of children. His defense lawyer, Ieuan Rees, acknowledged the horrific nature of Category A images but emphasized that the number of such images was relatively small. Rees also pointed out that there was no evidence to suggest that Davies had distributed the images, which could have led to more severe penalties.

In mitigation, Rees requested the court to consider a suspended prison sentence, highlighting that Davies, a divorced qualified carpenter, had sought help for his issues and that his new partner was supportive. However, the judge, Tracey Lloyd-Clarke, was unequivocal in her assessment, stating that the seriousness of Davies’s offending warranted a custodial sentence. She emphasized the gravity of possessing such images and the potential harm to victims.

Consequently, Davies was sentenced to 20 months in prison, with the sentence being suspended. Additionally, the court imposed a 15-year sexual harm prevention order and mandated that Davies register as a sex offender for the same period. It was also noted that Davies had previously received a suspended sentence in 2008 from Cardiff magistrates for indecent exposure, indicating a pattern of concerning behavior.