An Erw Deg Paedophile from Llangollen, Stephen Thomas, who exploited a group of vulnerable and troubled youths has been incarcerated.
Stephen Thomas, of Erw Deg, was sentenced to six years and six months of jail at Mould Crown Court today (October 10).
The 46-year-old, Stephen Thomas, had previously confessed to violating a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO), distributing a class A narcotic (cocaine), and attempting sexual assault on a minor.
Simon Rogers, representing the prosecution, informed the court that Stephen Thomas extended an invitation to the group to enter his residence, assuring them of drugs, wine, and a “location for socialising.”
This occurred over a six-week span in January and February 2022; he was already a registered sex offender and was therefore subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO), which entailed the monitoring of his mobile phone.
Stephen Thomas told the teenagers he was dying, which made them “sympathetic” to him and exchanged mobile numbers with them.
Stephen Thomas was also moving SIM cards between multiple phones at the time, while the phone he used to contact the group was deliberately hidden from police.
Inviting the teenagers to “chill” at his house became a “regular occurrence”, Mr Rogers said, adding that Stephen Thomas began to buy them alcohol and cocaine.
One of the teenagers also said Stephen Thomas would “always want pictures of us on his phone, but he would never be in them”.
On one occasion, one of the females passed out on Stephen Thomas’ sofa after he had given her cocaine and alcohol, while most of the rest of the group were outside.
Stephen Thomas carried her upstairs and lay her on his bed before starting to remove her clothing, but it was at this point that some of the group returned and noticed him.
They became “angry” at him, because it was apparent that Stephen Thomas was seeking to “take advantage of an extremely vulnerable girl for his own sexual gratification”.
Following this, police became involved – at the time of his arrest, Stephen Thomas had an old mobile phone on his person, which the battery was falling out of.
In interview, he painted the children as “liars”.
One of the children said in a statement: “I don’t want to be his victim. I just want to be OK. I will be a survivor, not his victim.”
Another said they felt “violated” by Stephen Thomas, and added that he “ruined my childhood”, while a third said they “feel sick at the thought of seeing him”.
A fourth child added: “I feel like life just spiralled out of control. I’ll always be scared of him, he made my childhood hell.”
Defending Stephen Thomas, who had four previous convictions for 34 offences, Duncan Bould said his client is suffering from “chronic and serious ill health” which “isn’t going to get better”.
He said Stephen Thomas has made “a little bit of progress” since being remanded in custody, and asked the court to acknowledge his “limited number of previous convictions”.
Sentencing, Judge Nicola Jones told Stephen Thomas: “You put them in positions of particular vulnerability for the purposes of grooming them.
“It’s clear that the aim was to groom these children for sexual purposes.”
Stephen Thomas was made subject to a SHPO and sex offenders register notification requirements for an indefinite period.
Judge Jones also issued indefinite restraining orders, preventing Stephen Thomas from contacting five people.
All items seized from him by police were ordered to be forfeited and destroyed.
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