A guy from Neath Port Talbot, Gareth Phillips Skewen Paedophile, has been incarcerated for several child sexual offences. Gareth Phillips, 32, from Skewen, engaged in sexual intercourse with his 14-year-old victim in his vehicle in March 2019. Two months later, he commenced regular sexual encounters with the same victim. In November 2019, they formalised their partnership; nonetheless, Phillips requested the victim to maintain confidentiality.
In May 2021, Gareth Phillips sexually assaulted the same victim while residing at a hotel.
Gareth Phillips received a sentence of ten and a half years in jail at Swansea Crown Court after being found guilty of four counts of sexual activity with a child and one crime of rape.
Detective Sergeant David Connick said:
“Gareth Phillips is an incredibly dangerous individual who preyed upon his underage victim for a number of years. He displayed increasingly controlling behaviour during their relationship, and would find excuses to remain close with the victim’s unknowing family to ensure he had easy access to the victim.
“When his victim attempted to break off the relationship, he would exhibit coercive control in order to stop this, including threatening suicide.
“I would like to pay tribute to the bravery of the victim in coming forward after years of abuse by Gareth Phillips. The victim has shown tremendous courage throughout the investigation and trial.
“South Wales Police remains committed to tackling all forms of sexual abuse and have specially trained officers who are assigned to each case. We work alongside our partner agencies to support those effected by this type of abuse, and I would encourage anyone to report abuse in any form to police. All reports will be thoroughly investigated.”
If you or anyone you know have been affected by the people highlighted in this article, then please report those individuals to the Police on 101 (999 if an emergency) or visit their online resources for further details of the options for reporting a crime. You can also make a report at Crimestoppers should you wish to be completely anonymous. There is help available on our support links page.