Paedophile who put young victims through 'horrendous' ordeal is jailed

Stuart Jones, of Lyon Road, Pontefract, admitted three charges of sexual assault on a child under the age of 13 by touching.

The court heard two of the charges related to one victim and a second charge was in connection with a second.

Jones, 48, also admitted two charges of causing a child to watch a sexual act and one charge of inciting a child aged under 13 to engage in sexual activity.

Patrick Palmer, prosecuting, said all the offences happened at an address in Wakefield district over the same two day period in June 2019.

Jones also admitted one charge of possessing an indecent image of a child and one charge of possessing an extreme pornographic image.

Mr Palmer said police found the indecent image of a child and the extreme pornographic image in a WhatsApp chat group on his phone when he was arrested.

Mr Palmer said the extreme pornographic image was a video of a man involved in a sex act with a dog.

Mr Palmer said the indecent image of a child charge relates to a video of a man sexually abusing a boy.

Mark McKone, mitigating, said Jones lost his job in 2019 and had financial problems.

He said Jones had suffered from depression and anxiety and started drinking heavily and occasionally taking cocaine.

Mr McKone said Jones had paid £5,000 to attend a private rehabilitation centre in 2020.

Judge Robin Mairs jailed Jones for five years and three months.

Judge Mairs said Jones' name will be on the sex offender register for life.

And he was made the subject of an indefinite sexual harm prevention order.

Speaking after the sentencing hearing, Detective Constable Nicola Hewitt of West Yorkshire Police's Wakefield District Child Safeguarding Unit, said: “We welcome the sentence handed down to Jones for the abuse he inflicted.

“Jones put his young and vulnerable victims through a truly horrendous ordeal.

“Throughout our dealings with him he took no responsibility for his actions and showed no remorse.

“I am pleased that this jail sentence reflects the seriousness of his actions.”

“In Wakefield, we have special teams of officers who work tirelessly to investigate crimes against children and I would encourage anyone who has any information about sexual offending against children to contact the police via 101.

“Alternatively, you can call the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.”