In 2019, the Offender Database confirmed that Nailly Edwards, 25, of Lewis Street, Riverside, Cardiff, South Glamorgan, was sentenced to two and a half years in prison at Swansea Crown Court. Edwards, a registered sex offender with a lifetime Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO), was caught repeatedly loitering in the children’s section of the Canton Library to watch and fantasise about minors.
The court heard that Edwards visited the library on at least seven occasions in the days leading up to his arrest, spending hours watching children as young as two years old. His behaviour was discovered by vigilant library staff who alerted South Wales Police. In his interview with probation, Edwards admitted that he would watch the children until he became sexually aroused and would then find a quiet place to perform a sex act on himself.
Edwards was already subject to a lifetime SHPO following a 2011 conviction for the sexual assault of two boys. This order explicitly prohibited him from being within 10 meters of schools, parks, or any premises frequented by children. The breach at Canton Library was the fifth time Edwards had violated the conditions of his court-ordered monitoring, occurring just five days after police had visited his hostel to formally remind him of his legal restrictions.
Judge Patrick Curran QC described Edwards’ actions as a “very serious breach” and expressed a “sincere wish” that the defendant be offered a sex offender treatment course while in custody. Edwards refused to leave his cell for the sentencing hearing and was handed a two-and-a-half-year jail term. He remains on the Sex Offenders Register for life, and his indefinite SHPO continues to serve as a legal framework for the South Wales Police to manage the high risk he poses to the community.
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