Court hears of repeated breaches
A man originally from Bridgend stayed at his partner’s home while her two children were present, despite being prohibited from living or staying in a household with anyone under 18, a court has heard.
Andrew Watkins, aged 41, was also found to have used online accounts in breach of restrictions imposed after he was convicted of offences involving indecent images of children in 2024. He appeared for sentencing at Swansea Crown Court on Thursday, where the court heard that he had spent two nights each week at the property.
Watkins, who is currently of no fixed abode, had been made subject to a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order as part of his earlier sentence. The order restricted his use of the internet and social media, including preventing him from deleting browsing records and from operating accounts without police knowledge or under a false identity.
Partner was unaware of previous offending
The relationship came to light in February, when a probation officer questioned Watkins about a number stored on his mobile phone. He told the officer that he had met a woman through the dating application Hinge. The account used to make contact was one he was not permitted to use, the court was told.
The woman had two young children and, according to the prosecution case, did not know about Watkins’s previous offending. The circumstances have raised particular safeguarding concerns because the restrictions placed on Watkins were designed to manage the risk associated with his contact with children and his access to online services.
- Watkins was convicted in 2024 of offences relating to indecent images of children.
- He is accused of breaching his order on 10 occasions.
- The court heard that he had stayed at a property where two children were present.
- Police found six Category C images on a mobile phone.
Online activity examined by police
Prosecutor Megan Williams told the hearing that Watkins had used an Instagram profile which was not registered in his own name and had removed internet and browsing history. Investigators also found that he had operated several accounts across different websites, including some intended for users with sexual fetishes.
During searches of a mobile phone, officers discovered six Category C images of children. One image showed a girl described in court as being aged between eight and 11. The source material does not state that the children at the property were involved in any offence, but their presence formed part of the circumstances surrounding the alleged breaches.
| Matter before the court | Details |
|---|---|
| Previous conviction | Offences relating to indecent images of children in 2024 |
| Order in force | Sexual Harm Prevention Order lasting 10 years |
| Current charges | Six image-making offences, 10 order breaches and one notification offence |
Custody expected after guilty pleas
Watkins was arrested on 7 October. He faces six counts of making an indecent photograph of a child, 10 counts of breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and one count of failing to comply with the notification requirements of the Sex Offenders Register.
Defence barrister Jon Tarrant told the court that his client accepted that a prison sentence was unavoidable in the circumstances. The hearing concerned sentencing for the offences before the court; the supplied report does not give the final sentence imposed.
“Understands that custody must be inevitable in the circumstances,” the court was told on Watkins’s behalf.
The case illustrates the role of probation checks and police searches in identifying alleged breaches of orders imposed on convicted offenders. For communities in and around Bridgend, the proceedings also underline the importance of safeguarding arrangements intended to prevent people subject to restrictions from gaining access to children or concealing their online activity. Any further legal outcome will be determined through the court process.
