Stephen Ricketts, a Porthcawl milkman, avoided incarceration despite engaging in disturbing internet conversations with an individual posing as a ’13-year-old,’ who was actually a decoy used in a paedophile sting operation. Shortly thereafter, law enforcement discovered that he was violating the conditions of his suspended sentence.
Stephen Ricketts, a resident of Porthcawl, received a sentence in June 2023 of eight months’ imprisonment, suspended for 24 months, after he confessed to attempting to engage in sexual communication with a minor. Cardiff Crown Court was informed that the 54-year-old had communicated via internet messaging with a decoy account impersonating a 13-year-old. He transmitted an image of his genitalia and requested images of her breasts.
His conviction for that violation prohibited him from erasing his internet history. However, when a police officer visited his residence in January, they observed that he was utilising a mobile phone that he had not registered with the authorities.
“No internet history was available,” said prosecutor Abigail Jackson. “Stephen Ricketts denied deleting his history but said he had been carrying out internet searches using a voice control feature which did not record history.”
A week later police learned of another new phone that Stephen Ricketts had not immediately told them about. He claimed he had not been in touch because he had been “feeling down”. The court also heard he had been a month late in registering other details with police, breaching his notification requirements.
Stephen Ricketts, of Mary Street in Porthcawl, admitted two breaches of a sexual harm prevention order and a failure to comply with notification requirements. His barrister Rose Gladwell said the breaches were a sign of “poor organisation and emotional instability” rather than intentional criminality but she added that her client realised the restrictions were “not a matter of discretion nor convenience”.
She told the court that the new phone was bought after a car accident in which Stephen Ricketts “temporarily lost possession” of the first phone. “His life has been marked by trauma which he has only recently begun to acknowledge,” she said.
“Stephen Ricketts works unsociable hours and it is not a glamorous job but he has held it down despite the isolation it brings him. He is vulnerable and socially isolated but he is willing to do the work to overcome his issues.”
Ms Gladwell asked the judge to consider another suspended sentence on the basis of Stephen Ricketts’ “high level of compliance” with probation service appointments since his previous sentence.
She also argued that imprisonment would have an impact on his children. “Although estranged from his children, they still rely on him for financial support,” she said.
Passing sentence, Judge Richard Kember said: “I take into account that you had lost your temporary accommodation and had become homeless. You had lost contact with your family and had medical issues including arthritis, anxiety and depression.”
But he also took into account that Ricketts had been assessed as posing a high risk of harm to children and had a history of trying to “deceive professionals”.
The judge found that if spared prison again there would be a risk of Stephen Ricketts continuing to breach court orders. He activated four months of the suspended sentence and imposed a further 10 months meaning a total prison term of 14 months.
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