A NEWTOWN man has been jailed for a year after “bombarding” a teenager 20 years his junior, and her mother, with social media messages.

Guy Jones’ behaviour was described as “obsessive, worrying, unnatural and deeply unsettling” by Judge Rhys Rowlands at Mold Crown Court today (March 31). Jones, from Newtown, created a fake Instagram account and began messaging the 17-year-old girl, who he met while she was a waitress at a hotel.

Last Month Jones, 37, admitted two breaches of a sexual harm prevention order that barred him from creating social networking accounts, with the offences occurring between September 5, 2020, and April 26, 2021. He also admitted a charge of harassment against the girl’s mother between February 2 and July 30 last year.

Jones had previously been jailed in February 2008 after sexually assaulting a five-year-old, and in 2016 he was convicted of making indecent images of children at Welshpool Magistrates’ Court, leading to the order being imposed.

Prosecutor Jemma Gordon said Jones’ teenage victim would go to work and find the defendant there.

“He would stare at her, making her feel uncomfortable,” said Ms Gordon.

“She started receiving messages from an Instagram account known as Cheeky Villain. She blocked him but then had 50 messages from three different accounts, saying he loved her and that her mother was keeping them from being together.”

Ms Gordon said that on one occasion in September 2020 the girl’s mother had given Jones her number after becoming concerned about him when he was drunk in the pub one night – when she was unaware of the messages.

“He began mentioning her daughter which she thought was strange," she added. "The daughter then told her mum about his messages and the police were contacted.

“In February 2021 the mother was contacted on Facebook by someone using the profile name Lyndon Butters. She received messages saying ‘I love your girl’ and ‘I want to be with her’ from an account under a different name. He professed his love for her daughter.

“He was arrested in April 2021 but continued to contact the mother constantly over Facebook via calls and video chats; on July 26 alone she had 49 missed calls and messages from Lyndon Butters. She eventually answered the phone and had told him she’d Googled him and had discovered he was a sex offender.

“The defendant said he had been aware her daughter was under 18, saying on one occasion ‘who cares that I fancy lasses under 18 – just the law’.”

When Jones was arrested last July no social networking accounts were found on his phone but police did discover internet searches for the 17-year-old.

Acting for Jones, of Llys Lelog, Newtown, Simon Rogers acknowledged the "unpleasant nature" of the messages, but said Jones was "genuinely remorseful".

“These offences were committed at a time when he was struggling with alcohol, he was drinking heavily and was heavily in debt. He was struggling during lockdown.

“He has made real positive changes in his life; he stopped drinking in November 2021, he gained part time work in December, which has now become full time."

He added: “He is making real and determined efforts to put his offending behind him.”

Judge Rowlands told Jones this was his third breach of the previous court order and that he had continuously “pestered” his victims and ignored court and police orders not to do so.

"There is little doubt this was a calculated and deliberate attempt to frustrate the terms of your order," he said.

“It was obsessive, worrying and unnatural behaviour on your part towards a 17-year-old girl. Then you moved on to harassing her mother. Your behaviour was deeply unsettling, she was 20 years younger than you.

“It calls into question your motivation to change and address your past behaviour. In a report there is reference to your hostility towards your past convictions, you believe it’s unrealistic to expect you to comply with restrictions on your use of the internet.

“You have a number of convictions, including sexual assault on a child. Your past non-compliance and continuing to offend makes it quite clear there is absolutely no realistic prospect of rehabilitation at present.”

Jones was jailed for 12 months for breaching the previous court order, with no separate penalty for the second breach or the harassment charge.

Judge Rowlands also granted a restraining order, which will remain in place for three years.