A court has revealed that indecent photographs of children as young as four being assaulted were discovered on the phone of a convicted Penlan Paedophile Joshua Neil Bevan. In June 2021, officers from the online investigation team of South Wales Police in Bridgend were notified of a computer associated with an address in Crwys Terrace, Penlan, Swansea — Joshua Neil Bevan’s residence — that was utilised for downloading indecent photos of minors.
On June 21 at 7:10 AM, detectives from the department arrived at his residence and informed him and his mother that they would conduct a search of the property. They scrutinised electronic equipment, including a Samsung mobile phone located in Joshua Neil Bevan’s bedroom. Swansea Crown Court was informed that a digital forensic officer analysed the phone and discovered a secure folder on the device. Access revealed numerous obscene movies portraying child abuse and violent pornography on the Kik chat program. Joshua Neil Bevan was apprehended and sent to the police station for interrogation.
He acknowledged ownership of the phone but had no remark concerning the material discovered on the device. An additional investigation revealed 12 obscene films in a Kik chat group of which Joshua Neil Bevan was a member, alongside eight other participants. Two movies were classified as category A, the most severe, one as category C, and nine contained extreme pornography. The recordings featured girls as young as four years old.
Prosecutor Dean Pulling informed the court that Joshua Neil Bevan, 29, is a sex offender who was convicted in 2014 for the creation and possession of indecent images of minors, resulting in a community order and a five-year sexual offences prevention order. He attended Swansea Crown Court for sentencing after having pleaded guilty to two counts of producing indecent images of a child and possessing an extreme pornographic image depicting an act of intercourse or oral sex with a deceased or living animal.
In mitigation, his solicitor John Allchurch stated: “The material was discovered on an application known as Kik, which the defendant shares with others.” An somebody other than the defendant uploaded the content to the group. His error, especially given his background and prior convictions, was his failure to exit the group or uninstall the application from his mobile device. He is currently 29 years old, unmarried, and lives at his residence with his mother. He has been unemployed for the past ten years owing to mental health difficulties.
Judge Paul Thomas sentenced Bevan to eight months in prison, stating: “The physical and emotional harm inflicted upon the girls (represented in the photographs) can only be speculated.” Such occurrences are affecting young children because individuals like you create a need for them to satisfy your own desires. There were also depictions of individuals engaging in sexual acts with animals. I acknowledge your mental health challenges; yet, I believe there is no possibility of rehabilitation. You had the opportunity and failed to capitalise on it.
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