In March 2019, the Offender Database reported that David Hayes, 40, of Bridge Street, Llanrwst, Conwy County, was sentenced to 23 years in prison at Mould Crown Court. Hayes, a former press officer for Bangor City Football Club, was convicted of 12 counts of horrific sexual violence against very young and vulnerable children. The sentencing followed a high-profile international search after Hayes fled the UK to evade justice.
The court heard that Hayes’s abuse took place over three years. He was found guilty of seven counts of rape, two counts of sexual assault against children aged 10 or under, and three counts of causing a child to engage in sexual activity. The paedophile stood with his head in his hands as a jury of four men and eight women delivered 12 unanimous guilty verdicts in less than three hours. Judge Rhys Rowlands described Hayes’s crimes as “revolting acts” and noted the compelling evidence brought forward by his young victims.
Hayes’s attempts to escape the law were extensive. After his first court appearance in 2015, he fled to the Netherlands and Brazil before eventually settling in Granada, Spain. He was once one of Europol’s most wanted fugitives and was featured on Crimewatch before being discovered in July 2018 working as an English teacher under an assumed name. He was subsequently extradited to the UK. For his flight from justice, Hayes was given an additional 12-month sentence to be served alongside his custodial term.
David Hayes was sentenced to 23 years in prison. Judge Rowlands stipulated that, due to the extreme gravity of the offences, Hayes would not be eligible for automatic parole after serving half of his sentence, as is standard for many other crimes. The judge emphasised that Hayes had significantly worsened the trauma of his victims by forcing them to wait years for justice due to his absconding.
As a result of his convictions for the rape and sexual abuse of children, Hayes has been placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life. He is managed under the highest level of Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) in North Wales. Upon his eventual release, he will be subject to a lifelong Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) with strict conditions preventing him from having any unsupervised contact with children or holding any position of trust.
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