Paedophile jailed after subjecting girl to sex attack
A PROLIFIC paedophile sexually assaulted a girl after befriending her family who were unaware of his previous convictions for indecent assault.
Simon Nash, 35, was convicted of sexually activity with a child under 13 following a trial at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court, while subject to a sexual harm prevention order for two separate offences of indecently assaulting children committed when he was teenager.
The defendant was accused of “deliberately associating himself” with the family of his victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, in order to gain access to her.
Despite denying the offence, Nash was found guilty by a unanimous verdict in March and appeared for sentencing at Cardiff Crown Court.
He also faced a charge of making threats to kill – but he was acquitted on this charge.
During the sentencing, prosecutor Alexander Greenwood read out a victim personal statement from the victim’s mother.
It said: “It has made her ill and I have noticed a massive difference in her as a person. She has had to have support in school for mental health.
“There has been a difference in behaviour, she is non-engaging with family and locks herself in her bedroom and doesn’t attend family outings.
“Before, she was a lovely person, always going out and acting like a normal teenager.
“It has put pressure on us as a family and I feel so hopeless and upset because she won’t open up to me.”
In 2002, Nash was convicted of two offences of indecent assault on a female under 14 when he was 17 years old and in 2004 he was convicted of indecent assault on a female under 16 when he was 19.
Defence barrister Lloyd Jenkins said his client had not planned to carry out the offence and described it as a “moment of madness”.
He said: “This was an isolated moment of madness and is not be repeated.
“As you saw at the trial, his mother is distraught and his father is terminally ill with cancer.
“The defendant has learning difficulties and suffers from anxiety and depression.”
Sentencing, Judge Jeremy Jenkins said he considered whether to give Nash an indeterminate prison sentence but he drew back from that and decided to give the defendant an extended sentence.
He said: “You have denied the offence to the jury and the author of the pre-sentence report and called the victim a liar and you put her through the ordeal of a trial so you get no credit.
“You are described as being completely unrepentant and as a significant risk to children. You targeted your victim who was vulnerable.”
Nash, of Heol Caradog, Penywaun, Aberdare, was sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment, six of which he will serve in custody and the remainder on licence.