ROYCE ROBERTS FROM CAERNARFON SENTENCED FOR CHILD PORNOGRAPHY AND ONLINE PREDATION IN NORTH WALES
| Red Rose Database
Caernarfon Child Sexual Abuser
In June 2006, Royce Roberts, a 42-year-old man from Caernarfon, was handed a prison sentence of four years and three months after admitting to a series of serious offences involving the exploitation of children through mobile communications. The court heard that Roberts had engaged in a disturbing pattern of sending thousands of pornographic messages via mobile phones, many of which targeted minors, causing significant concern among law enforcement and child protection agencies.
Judge John Rogers QC presided over the case at Mold Crown Court, where he expressed grave concern about the psychological harm that Roberts’s actions could inflict on the young victims. The judge emphasized that the defendant’s conduct posed a real risk of causing lasting emotional and mental damage to the children involved.
While police investigations could not determine the exact number of messages Roberts had sent, estimates suggest that the total could have reached into the tens of thousands. The sheer volume of communications underscored the extent of his online predatory behavior.
In addition to the primary charges, Roberts, who is also a painter and decorator by profession, admitted to four counts of possessing indecent images of a child. He also pleaded guilty to causing a public nuisance through unsolicited voice calls, text messages, and video calls, which further demonstrated his persistent attempts to contact minors inappropriately.
Prosecutor Simon Medland outlined the methods Roberts employed, revealing that he used advanced mobile technology to randomly select phone numbers and initiate contact. “The defendant would make random calls, and when they were answered, he’d show explicit images and send explicit texts,” Medland explained. He added that Roberts would often bribe young victims, promising to top-up their mobile phones if they showed him their private parts or looked at his.
One particularly disturbing case involved a 14-year-old girl, with whom Roberts engaged in an extensive series of calls. During these interactions, Roberts falsely presented himself as a 17-year-old boy named Kevin. He received explicit images from her and reciprocated by sending explicit images of himself. The court was told that Roberts had taken photographs of a 14-year-old girl in indecent poses, deceiving her into believing he was a teenager himself, and persuaded her to pose for him on approximately 45 occasions.
Judge Rogers highlighted the severity of Roberts’s actions, noting the distress caused to the children and the potential long-term psychological impact. He pointed out two aggravating factors: firstly, the young age of the victims, with 11 children aged 12 or under and one boy aged nine, and secondly, Roberts’s persistent offending over an eight-month period.
The offences were committed after Roberts accessed chat rooms following a personal relationship breakdown, which appeared to have triggered his online predatory behavior. The judge also acknowledged that Roberts’s guilty plea was a mitigating factor, sparing the victims from having to give evidence in court.
As part of his sentence, Roberts is prohibited from possessing any mobile phone with camera or video capabilities, and he is barred from establishing contact with anyone under the age of 16 without supervision. He is also forbidden from sharing or displaying any explicit material in the future.
Defense lawyer David Travers stated that although Roberts had made 32,800 calls across three mobile phones, it was unclear how many of these were directed at children versus adults. He noted that many calls were ordinary, and over 5,000 attempts to send images had failed.
Detective Inspector Gerwyn Lloyd urged parents to remain vigilant and supervise their children’s use of mobile phones and the internet. “The phone itself is not the problem; it’s the individual using the technology, such as Mr Roberts, that creates the danger,” he said, emphasizing the importance of parental oversight in protecting vulnerable children from online exploitation.
Judge John Rogers QC presided over the case at Mold Crown Court, where he expressed grave concern about the psychological harm that Roberts’s actions could inflict on the young victims. The judge emphasized that the defendant’s conduct posed a real risk of causing lasting emotional and mental damage to the children involved.
While police investigations could not determine the exact number of messages Roberts had sent, estimates suggest that the total could have reached into the tens of thousands. The sheer volume of communications underscored the extent of his online predatory behavior.
In addition to the primary charges, Roberts, who is also a painter and decorator by profession, admitted to four counts of possessing indecent images of a child. He also pleaded guilty to causing a public nuisance through unsolicited voice calls, text messages, and video calls, which further demonstrated his persistent attempts to contact minors inappropriately.
Prosecutor Simon Medland outlined the methods Roberts employed, revealing that he used advanced mobile technology to randomly select phone numbers and initiate contact. “The defendant would make random calls, and when they were answered, he’d show explicit images and send explicit texts,” Medland explained. He added that Roberts would often bribe young victims, promising to top-up their mobile phones if they showed him their private parts or looked at his.
One particularly disturbing case involved a 14-year-old girl, with whom Roberts engaged in an extensive series of calls. During these interactions, Roberts falsely presented himself as a 17-year-old boy named Kevin. He received explicit images from her and reciprocated by sending explicit images of himself. The court was told that Roberts had taken photographs of a 14-year-old girl in indecent poses, deceiving her into believing he was a teenager himself, and persuaded her to pose for him on approximately 45 occasions.
Judge Rogers highlighted the severity of Roberts’s actions, noting the distress caused to the children and the potential long-term psychological impact. He pointed out two aggravating factors: firstly, the young age of the victims, with 11 children aged 12 or under and one boy aged nine, and secondly, Roberts’s persistent offending over an eight-month period.
The offences were committed after Roberts accessed chat rooms following a personal relationship breakdown, which appeared to have triggered his online predatory behavior. The judge also acknowledged that Roberts’s guilty plea was a mitigating factor, sparing the victims from having to give evidence in court.
As part of his sentence, Roberts is prohibited from possessing any mobile phone with camera or video capabilities, and he is barred from establishing contact with anyone under the age of 16 without supervision. He is also forbidden from sharing or displaying any explicit material in the future.
Defense lawyer David Travers stated that although Roberts had made 32,800 calls across three mobile phones, it was unclear how many of these were directed at children versus adults. He noted that many calls were ordinary, and over 5,000 attempts to send images had failed.
Detective Inspector Gerwyn Lloyd urged parents to remain vigilant and supervise their children’s use of mobile phones and the internet. “The phone itself is not the problem; it’s the individual using the technology, such as Mr Roberts, that creates the danger,” he said, emphasizing the importance of parental oversight in protecting vulnerable children from online exploitation.