Nurse sent explicit images while working at Morriston Hospital to account posing as 13-year-old girl
Report by ITV Wales correspondent Dean Thomas-Welch
A nurse sent explicit pictures of himself while in hospital uniform at work to someone he believed was a 13-year-old girl.
Phillip Hill, 54, from Pontlliw, Swansea contacted who he thought was a 13-year-old girl called Sophie over Facebook Messenger in January this year. The account really belonged to a paedophile hunter group.
Over a number of days, the anaesthetic theatre assistant, who worked at Morriston Hospital, tried to persuade the young girl to send indecent pictures of herself to him.
He sent several graphic photos and videos of himself to the account.
He was confronted by the paedophile hunter group and then arrested by South Wales Police as he left one shift.
Hill admitted to all the charges against him, including attempting to communicate sexually with a child, attempting to cause or incite a child to engage in sexual activity, attempting to cause a child to watch a sexual act, and possession of extreme images.
On Thursday, a judge at Swansea Crown Court described the former nurse as "extremely sexually deviant". Judge Paul Thomas said Hill encouraged 'Sophie' to send him images of her performing sex acts on herself and send indecent images.
Judge Thomas said that some of Hill's messages referred to his work at hospital and images showed him i his scrubs and at work.
Swansea Crown Court heard Hill's computer records revealed he had been accessing extreme pornographic for a number of years. A total of 288 extreme pornographic images of bestiality were then found on devices seized from him home. They had been downloaded since 2013.
Hill's defence said the defendant believed his behaviour in messaging the child had been triggered by the recent death of his mother.
However, Judge Paul Thomas said the material found on his tablet showed Hill had been "sexually extremely deviant" for at least a decade.
Sentencing Hill, Judge Thomas said: "I am told candidly by you that your work as an anaesthetic theatre assistant involved children.
"There's no suggestion that anything untoward happened but, with knowledge of your proclivities and interests, that is a concerning feature.
"Following your arrest, you were found by the police to have 288 images depicting, among other things, sex between animals - dogs and horses - and human beings.
"There's also a suggestion that you were searching terms such as 'incest', 'Down's syndrome', and 'dead'.
"The only conclusion I'm afraid I can reach Mr Hill is that you are a man who, at least for the last 10 years, has been sexually extremely deviant, at least in your interests if not in your acts."
Hill was jailed for two years and three months and is be expected to serve half the term in prison and half on licence.
The judge ordered that Hill's devices not be returned to him and placed him under a 10-year sexual harm prevention order. He will also be required to sign onto the sex offenders register for 10 years.
South Wales Police welcomed the sentencing and said Hill was a "clear risk to children".
Detective Inspector Carl Price said: "I welcome Phillip Hill’s sentencing today. He showed clear sexual intent towards children.
"His behaviour clearly demonstrates a risk to children, and it is quite right that he has been given a custodial sentence for his actions.
"We will continue in our commitment to bring offenders like Phillip Hill to justice."
Speaking after the sentence Alex Scott of the CPS said: "Phillip Hill instigated and engaged in sexually explicit conversations with someone he thought was a teenage girl.
"It is fortunate that there was no child at risk in this instance, but that is not always the case, and it is a stark reminder of the dangers that children can face on social media.
"The CPS continues to work closely with the Police in bringing online predators to justice whenever the legal test is met."
In a statement, Swansea Bay University Health Board said: "We are shocked and horrified by the nature of these appalling offences.
"As soon as the health board was made aware of Mr Hill’s arrest our internal HR and safeguarding processes were activated.
"He was immediately removed from duty and has not worked for us since.
"No prior concerns had been raised about Mr Hill, and we can give assurances that no evidence has been found indicating that his offences related to any patients."