In this report from October 2022, James Vaatstra, aged 35, of Cardiff, South Wales, was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment (24 months) at Cardiff Crown Court on 14 October 2022 after pleading guilty to child grooming offences.
The criminal investigation was launched by South Wales Police in September 2021 after a concerned parent contacted officers regarding comments made by a 14-year-old girl.
The court heard that Vaatstra had connected with the child on Snapchat, knowing her age, and sent her an explicit video of him masturbating.
Vaatstra coordinated an in-person meeting, collecting the victim in a converted ambulance equipped with a bed and driving her to Ogmore-by-Sea.
While inside the vehicle, Vaatstra supplied the child with cannabis and asked her to cuddle him.
Following the safeguarding referral, officers arrested Vaatstra on 21 September 2021 at his vehicle, where a search uncovered numerous sex toys.
Digital forensic examinations of his handset revealed messages sent to the victim acknowledging the legal risks of meeting her, alongside copies of the explicit footage.
Appearing before Cardiff Crown Court, Vaatstra pleaded guilty to:
- Meeting a girl under the age of 16 following grooming
The presiding judge handed Vaatstra a total custodial sentence of two years’ imprisonment.
The court also made Vaatstra subject to a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) and granted a restraining order prohibiting him from contacting or approaching the victim.
Release Calculation: Under UK sentencing legislation for sexual offences, Vaatstra was required to serve two-thirds (16 months) of his 24-month sentence in prison custody before becoming eligible for automatic statutory release on licence. His projected release date fell in February 2024, whereupon he remained subject to licence supervision in the community until the expiration of the full term in October 2024.
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