November 2003 Babysitter jailed for raping boy A man has been jailed for nine years for sexually attacking a young boy he was looking after as his mother went on a night out. Nigel Hallisey, 38, from Ely, Cardiff, who had previous convictions for child abuse, later admitted raping the child after initially convincing his mother he was innocent. Cardiff Crown Court heard that Hallisey was jailed for seven years in 1996 for sex attacks on two boys he befriended when they were aged nine and 10. Nicholas Gareth Jones, prosecuting, said that despite his previous conviction, some time after his release in November 2000, he managed to convince the mother of his latest victim, when he protested his innocence. “She trusted him enough to let him into her home to babysit. “But by early July this year the boy began telling his mother that Hallisey was ‘dirty’,” he said. The boy said ‘Hallisey says dirty things and does dirty things’. “The allegation rang true with the mother. She then began to understand why Hallisey was giving the child presents such as toys and sweets.” Keighton Hughes, defending, said Hallisey accepted the wrongdoing of his behaviour. “There has been a sea change in his position. There’s an acceptance of guilt and that he is a sex offender,” he added. Sentencing on Wednesday, Judge Jonathan Durham Hall QC ordered Hallisey to register as a sex offender and banned him from working with children for life. “The boy’s mother, no doubt much to her regret now, believed you were innocent and entrusted her son into your care,” he said. “You often gave him presents, clearly in return for his silence. “But such was the effect upon him he did complain to his mother. She very quickly saw and realised the enormity of the situation. “You pose a high risk of harm to the public and to any young boy into whose presence you come for any period.”