In this report from February 2023, Craig Jenkins, aged 53, of Newport, Pembrokeshire, was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment (36 months) at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court after pleading guilty to four counts of sexual touching of a child.
The criminal investigation was launched after the victim contacted police when Jenkins attempted to initiate contact with her on social media twenty years after the abuse occurred.
The court heard that Jenkins sexually abused the victim two decades earlier when she was nine years old.
The victim had suppressed the trauma until Jenkins sent her an unprompted Facebook friend request and sent messages to her sister claiming he loved her.
Recognising the persistent nature of his behaviour, the victim reported the historical offences to law enforcement.
Jenkins was arrested in March 2021. Although he initially denied any sexual offending during formal interviews, he later pleaded guilty at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court to:
- Four counts of sexual touching of a child
The presiding judge handed Jenkins a total custodial sentence of three years’ imprisonment.
The court also made Jenkins subject to a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO), granted an indefinite restraining order to protect the victim, and ordered that he comply with Sex Offenders Register notification requirements indefinitely.
Release Calculation: Under UK sentencing legislation for sexual offences, Jenkins was required to serve two-thirds (24 months / 2 years) of his 36-month sentence in prison custody before becoming eligible for automatic statutory release on licence. His projected release date fell in February 2025, whereupon he remained subject to licence supervision in the community until the expiration of the full term in February 2026.
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