The Ystalyfera Paedophile, 60-year-old “determined paedophile” Steven Loveridge, working in West Wales has been sentenced to six years and seven months in prison for sexual offences against girls as young as nine years old.
Steven Loveridge of Ystalyfera, near Swansea, faced charges of two counts of indecent exposure, two counts of enticing a minor to engage in sexual behaviour, and three additional counts of possessing indecent photos of minors.
Steven Loveridge admitted admission to all seven allegations, which included the possession of 469 indecent photos of children, 82 of which were classified as Category A images, the most severe classification for such acts.
The prosecution characterised Steven Loveridge as a “resolute paedophile with a deep-seated sexual attraction to young girls,” resulting in a sentence of six years and seven months in jail at Swansea Crown Court today. He will additionally serve an additional six years on licence following the completion of his jail sentence.
The complete scope of Steven Loveridge’s depravity emerged when he was apprehended and discovered to possess two multi-colored dice and a set of altered playing cards.
The court was presented with a startling narrative of deliberate criminal behaviour, revealing that Loveridge employed dice and cards in a game to choose the specifics of his offences and the ages of his victims, who were invariably minors.
The colours of the dice were associated with specific age groups of children, while the cards indicated the intended predatory behaviour.
A chilling audio recording downloaded as evidence from the defendant’s phone indicated that the blue colour represented an age he referred to as ‘playgroup age’.
The playing cards were marked with words such as ‘kids’, ‘parents’, ‘follow’, ‘stop’, ‘pursuing’, ‘girl incoming’ and were used along with the dice as part of his disturbing game.
Searches of the defendant’s property and digital devices found annotated maps of local areas where he could encounter children, including playing fields, parks, and schools.
Further screenshots of digital maps were found to be marked with possible escape routes and the locations of known CCTV cameras.
Digital forensic examinations found internet searches for the start and finish times of schools in his local area, revealing how the timing, location, targeting and nature of his offending was pre-mediated to a startling degree.
Sentencing him to six years and seven months in prison at Swansea Crown Court on Thursday (May 22), Judge Catherine Richards said: “Your sexual interest in young children has existed since 2007. In recent years, you have been building up to contact sexual offences with meticulous planning. There is currently, plainly, further risk of you committing specified sexual offences, and a significant risk of you causing serious harm as a result.”
The 60-year-old, Steven Loveridge, was first arrested on Monday 9 December 2024, following a report of indecent exposure against two young girls, aged 12 and 13, inside a Home Bargains store on Sunday 8 December 2024.
The court heard how Steven Loveridge masturbated as he followed the girls around the shop, before exposing his penis to them, asking if they wanted to touch it. The girls immediately reported the incident to an adult in the store and Loveridge quickly left the scene.
A formal report was made to Dyfed-Powys Police and officers shared CCTV footage with neighbouring forces to identify the suspect. South Wales Police believed this to be the same man they were looking for in relation to a similar incident involving a nine-year-old girl at Asda just the week before.
On Monday 9 December 2024, Loveridge was arrested in Ystradgynlais on suspicion of indecent exposure and inciting a child to engage in sexual activity. He was swiftly charged and remanded into custody.
Appearing at Swansea Crown Court on 13 January 2025, Steven Loveridge pleaded guilty to the offences committed against the 12 and 13-year-olds in Ystradgynlais and the nine-year-old in Ystalyfera.
Commenting on the evidence seized from Loveridge’s home and his digital devices, officer in case, DC Andy Leonard said: “The handwritten notes and audio recordings made by Steven Loveridge himself suggest that the offences he committed against the young girls in are just a glimpse of what this monster could be capable of.
“While the offences he has been sentenced for today are hideous enough alone, I believe the timing of his arrest was critical to preventing the escalation of his dangerous and criminal behaviour. The reality is, we don’t know how far Steven Loveridge would have gone to satisfy his heinous sexual desires if he wasn’t behind bars today.”
Further digital investigations carried out in early 2025 uncovered a disturbing library of sexually explicit and abusive images of children that were dated as early as 2007.
While remanded in custody, Steven Loveridge was further charged with the possession of indecent images of children and pleaded guilty at Merthyr Magistrates Court on Friday 4 April.
In addition to his custodial sentence, Loveridge has been issued with a 15-year restraining order and will be made subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order drafted by Dyfed-Powys Police’s Legal Services team.
Officer in case, DC Andy Leonard continued: “I would like to thank the victims and their families for their courage and support during the investigation. I hope that today’s sentence and the orders in place against Mr Steven Loveridge provide a sense of justice and that they can feel safer knowing he is in prison. Every child should be able to feel safe in their community and not have to live with the fear of offenders like Mr Loveridge.
“The investigation demonstrated excellent collaborative work from colleagues in Dyfed-Powys Police across multiple departments from the arrest, building the case, bringing the offender to justice and work to draft the Sexual Harm Prevention Order. I would like to thank colleagues from South Wales for their support in the investigation and the CPS for their support and guidance throughout this complex investigation.
“I hope today’s sentence will be of some reassurance to the community and sends a clear message to perpetrators that crime against children is abhorrent, and that we as police will find the perpetrators and seek justice for the children involved.”
If you or anyone you know have been affected by the people highlighted in this article, then please report those individuals to the Police on 101 (999 if an emergency) or visit their online resources for further details of the options for reporting a crime. You can also make a report at Crimestoppers should you wish to be completely anonymous. There is help available on our support links page.