Wife trapped her paedophile husband on net
Friday November 13 2009
THE actions of a woman who trapped her paedophile husband by posing as a teenage girl on the internet were praised by a children's charity yesterday.
David Anthony Roberts (69) asked a girl he believed to be aged 14 to have sex with him, not realising he was having an online conversation with his wife Cheryl, it was reported in the 'South Wales Echo'.
When Mrs Roberts called in the police and NSPCC, indecent images of children were found on his computer.
Claude Knights, director of children's charity Kidscape, said: "The offences that he has committed are very serious indeed and his wife must be commended for the active part that she played in bringing him to justice."
Roberts, of Pant Street, Pantygog, Bridgend, south Wales, was sentenced at Cardiff Crown Court yesterday and ordered to attend a programme for sex offenders as part of a three-year community order.
Judge Christopher Vosper QC said he must also register as a sex offender for five years and must not attempt to make contact with children under 18 on the internet indefinitely.
Roberts had pleaded guilty on September 21 to attempting to engage in sexual activity in the presence of a child.
He also admitted four counts of making indecent photographs of a child and two counts of possessing such pictures.
It was reported that Mrs Roberts decided to pose as the teenager after becoming suspicious when she read a message on her husband's computer in 2008.
She set up profiles on the website BearShare and began having online conversations with her husband as a young girl.
The couple had been married for 18 years, but are now divorced. Mrs Knights, said: "This is yet another case that points to the risks posed to young people by online sexual predators."
- Rhiannon Beacham in Cardiff
Irish Independent
