Keith Edmonds, a Rhondda Cynon Taf paedophile has been sentenced to 21 years in prison following the covert recording of his confession by two of his victims.
At Cardiff Crown Court, a judge informed Keith Edmonds, 86, that he harboured no sympathy for his impending death in prison.
Keith Edmonds, from Taff’s Well, Rhondda Cynon Taf, was unaware that one of his victims was capturing his apology on a cell phone.
A jury found him guilty of 11 charges of sexual assault against four children under 13 between 2001 and 2015.
In the recording, Keith Edmonds could be heard saying: “I’m sorry. I wish I could turn back the clock then I wouldn’t have done it.”
The tape was handed to police, but the father-of-two denied the charges, claiming he was tired and wanted to go to bed when he confessed.
He told the court: “I didn’t do anything to them. I just told them what they wanted to hear so they would go away.”
His four victims, now adults, told how they were left suffering from panic attacks, flashbacks and suicidal thoughts after years of abuse.
One told the court: “I was cheated out of a happy childhood. The constant dark cloud that has hung over me ever since has never diminished.”
The court heard Keith Edmonds has declining health and is under the care of a cardiologist.
Judge Michael Fitton KC told him: “I recognise that it is inevitable that you will die in prison. That is a matter that moves me to not a shred of sympathy for you.
“You are a man who is morally bankrupt and have shown no remorse. You ruined the childhood of four children, bringing shame, pain and emotional turmoil on them.”
Keith Edmonds was told he will spend two-thirds of his sentence in prison, meaning he will be 100 by the time he is eligible for parole.
He was made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order and told to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
Judge Fitton praised Keith Edmonds’ victims for their “commendable and extraordinary courage” in bringing him to justice.
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