Swansea man who groomed girl, 12, and arranged to meet her caught by undercover police

A Swansea man who thought he was meeting up with a 12-year-old girl after grooming her online instead was greeted by an undercover police officer.

Timothy Jones, 33, from Swansea, used social media to speak with an online profile which he thought was of a 12-year-old girl that turned out to be police.

In conversations, Jones acknowledged that he was speaking to a child before describing numerous sexual acts, sending a picture of himself and arranged to meet the girl for sexual activity; confirming a time and location.

Jones arranged to meet the young girl in April 2022, where he was arrested when he arrived.

He appeared at Swansea Crown Court on Wednesday to be sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to sexually communicating with a child and meeting a child following sexual grooming.

The operation was led by Tarian, the Regional Organised Crime Unit for southern Wales, along with South Wales Police.

Detective Inspector Mathew Davies, of Tarian, said: “This is excellent joint working between Tarian and South Wales Police. The focus of the operation was to target high harm offenders, whilst safeguarding and protecting children.

“It is our absolute priority to protect and keep children safe in our communities.

“If anyone has been a victim of child sexual abuse, I urge you to report it to your local police force via 101. We will always follow up allegations of abuse, no matter when they occurred. Victims can talk in confidence to experienced investigators and we can also help them get access to a range of other support services.”

“If you have concerns about your use of the internet or inappropriate thoughts or behaviour about children or if you are worried about how someone you know behaves around children or are worried about their use of the internet then the Lucy Faithfull Foundation provides a free, anonymous and confidential Stop It Now! helpline on 0808 1000 900 for advice, support and information.”