Brecon: Thomas Spalding jailed over child video call offence

Thomas Spalding was found guilty by a jury following a six-day trial at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court in July. His sentencing hearing on Tuesday (September 8) was told he has "a clear sexual interest in girls on the cusp of puberty". Judge Jeremy Jenkins told Spalding a pre-sentence report had noted his "narcissistic traits," while his offending was described as "predatory, deceitful and showed sophistication in its application". It also said he was a "dangerous offender". He was sentenced to four years in prison, with a further four years on licence. He will serve at least 32 months before going before the Parole Board. The trial also found the 47-year-old, of Free Street in Brecon, guilty of three counts of breaching a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) with the sentencing hearing being told how he had shown no regard for the court order. For this, he received three two-year prison sentences that will run concurrently both to each other, and to the four-year sentence. Jenny Yeo, prosecuting, explained that Spalding had been added to a group on Snapchat. A video call was made on April 14, 2020, which was answered by an 11-year-old girl and the defendant proceeded to masturbate in front of the camera while she watched. She said: "Other children were included in that group. The girl was living with her parents and her father had been monitoring her phone. He saw she had taken a screenshot of around 15 to 20 seconds showing Spalding's actions. "The matter was reported to the police." Ms Yeo said this put Spalding in breach of his SHPO. He had also breached it on two occasions in July 2023 when he attempted to hide a computer tower during a search of his home, and again at a later date when he refused access to his property. Ms Yeo requested that the court make Spalding the subject of a criminal behaviour order (CBO) after he sent abusive emails and phone calls to Dyfed-Powys Police staff criticising his SHPO and intimidated officers when they visited his property as part of the order. She added that one officer had been forced to block Spalding's email address due to the level of the abuse. Hwyel Davies, defending, said it was an agreed fact that Spalding was added to the Snapchat group and had not created it, but admitted there was a "significant disparage" of age as he would have been in his early 40s at the time. Mr Davies also noted the time it has taken between the defendant's initial arrest in September 2020 and the sentencing hearing. He continued: "He is an educated and capable man who has put his focus in the wrong area. "Upon his release, he intends to remove himself from the IT world and wants to buy and sell houses in the Brecon area." Mr Davies said Spalding is regarded well by his family members and is a carer for his mother. Passing sentence, Judge Jenkins noted the defendant had attempted to claim the video had been made for an adult website and shown to the 11-year-old by an unknown person, while the Crown's evidence "clearly showed the incident was a live stream". He also praised the "dogged" efforts of the police team, commenting: "You said you had been elsewhere [at the time] and gave false evidence to throw off the investigation officers. "You described yourself as an IT expert and you went to great lengths to hide evidence and confuse officers. But you were up against a formidable team. That team followed the evidence doggedly and finally undermined what you had said. "They are to be commended for their professionalism." Judge Jenkins made Spalding the subject of a 10-year SHPO, as well as a 10-year CBO not to contact, approach or mention on social media, any DPP staff, working or retired. The defendant will have to pay a victim surcharge upon his release, but no order for costs was made.