A “devious” paedophile who claimed he had an interest in “Anime” distributed an indecent video of children engaging in sexual intercourse. He was also found in possession of images, one of which depicted a child being raped while she was asleep.
Steven Wolfe, 36, of Ferndale, Rhondda, was visited by police at his home on June 16, 2022, after intelligence was received about indecent images being uploaded to the internet from his address. When he was cautioned, he said “I am into Anime but not child porn”.
A sentencing hearing at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court on Wednesday heard a Samsung mobile phone was seized by police. When examined, it was found to contain 12 category A indecent images, one category C image and 10 prohibited images of children.
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Prosecutor Tabitha Walker said one of the images depicted a young child being raped while she as asleep on intoxicated. Another image showed a girl in distress as she was raped by multiple men.
The defendant had also uploaded an image of two children aged between 11 and 13 engaged in sexual intercourse, to a What’s App group entitled “Hentai” which had 727 members. Examination of his web browsing history revealed there was a history of What’s App and Facebook conversations which indicated he had a sexual interest in children.
Wolfe, of Darran Terrace, pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing indecent images of children, possessing prohibited images of children and distributing an indecent image of children. The court heard he was of previous good character.
In a report following an interview with probation, Wolfe was described as “devious” having “feigned ignorance” at the context of the images and appeared “disinterested” when discussing the impact the sexual abuse would have had on the children. Judge Jeremy Jenkins said his attitude suggested he considered child sexual abuse as “permissible”.
In mitigation, Byron Broadstock said his client was “not functioning at a high level” and was not articulate. He said the defendant has not reoffended since his arrest and has employment as a forklift truck driver, which he would lose if sentenced to custody.
Judge Jenkins described the images found in the defendant’s possession as “of the most vile nature”. He said the public would be better protected if Wolfe was dealt with in the community and rehabilitated.
Wolfe was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment for 24 months. He was made subject to a rehabilitation activity requirement of 45 days, a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for 10 years, sex offender notification requirement of 10 years and to pay costs of £1,000.
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