June 2006
Judge can’t give pervert long enough sentence
A JUDGE has hit out at sentencing guidelines which mean he can only sentence a serial sex offender to 12 months despite him being a danger to the public.
Dion Newell yesterday admitted exposing himself at a rail station just hours after being let out of jail.
But despite having a record of 18 previous sex offences spanning two decades, including gross indecency with a child, Judge Christopher Llewellyn-Jones QC, pictured, said he was restricted in sentencing.
He was the second Cardiff judge in a week facing a sex sentence dilemma, after the outrage caused by the jail term handed to paedophile Craig Sweeney.
Branding Newell, 39, a serious risk to the public, Judge Christopher Llewellyn-Jones QC told Cardiff Crown Court: ‘I am not permitted to impose a long custodial sentence.
‘The maximum sentence and the maximum extended licence for this offence is two years. I am substantially restricted in the sentence I can pass on you. The only sentence I can pass is an extended sentence that cannot exceed two years. And the custodial element must be at least 12 months.
‘Taking into account your guilty plea and the circumstances of the offence, I will pass the maximum sentence I can.’
He sentenced Newell to a year in jail and a year on extended licence, enabling him to be treated in the community, including psychiatric help. He will be on the Sex Offenders’ Register for life.
Prosecutor James Evans said Newell had been jailed for three years in 2001 for gross indecency with a child at Barry Island beach.
He was later released on licence twice and each time recalled, before being freed again on December 7, last year. Later that same day he found himself at Cardiff Central railway station.
Mr James said: ‘He approached police officers and asked them to arrest him, saying he had missed a bail appointment.
‘Then he said ‘I’m going to get my penis out’ and did just that. He has 31 previous offences – 18 are sexual offences – most similar to this one.
‘They started in 1984 and they continued through the next two decades, becoming more serious in 1998 when he was put on probation for indecency with a child.’
The case comes after another, last week, when Judge John Griffith Williams QC – following Government guidelines – told child abductor and paedophile Craig Sweeney that he could be considered for parole in just over five years.
The sentence saw politicians and lawyers drawn into the controversy.
And today Judge George Bathurst-Norman, a serving judge, took the unusual step of speaking out to say publicly that political decisions, including the 2003 establishment of the Sentencing Guidelines Council (SGC), had tied judges’ hands and led to ‘silly’ sentences.
And he called for reform of the SGC to give judges greater discretion on how much credit they give offenders for making a guilty plea.
Meanwhile, a Government minister who criticised a judge has been forced into a humiliating climbdown.
Vera Baird QC withdrew comments she made last week about the Recorder of Cardiff, Judge John Griffith Williams, getting the sentence of paedophile Craig Sweeney ‘wrong‘.
October 2001
Flasher jailed for three years
A FLASHER who exposed himself to two little girls on Barry Island beach has been jailed for three years.
Dion Newell, 35, was said to have a history of indecently exposing himself with 20 convictions dating back almost two decades.
A judge at Cardiff Crown Court yesterday not only locked him up, but ordered that he be on licence for a further two years at the end of his sentence, making him liable for recall to jail if he is caught offending again.
Judge Peter Jacobs told him: “A distinction can be made between these offences and physical sexual assaults, but the line becomes increasingly blurred as you carry on doing it. Parliament has recognised that by raising the maximum sentence from two years to 10 years.”
He warned Newell, who at the time of the latest offences was living in a flat at Holton Road, Barry, that any future offending would lead to longer sentences.
Newell had pleaded guilty to two charges of committing an act of gross indecency towards a child after being confronted by the mother of one of the young girls involved.
Prosecutor Roger Griffiths said:
“He positioned himself close to two 11-year-old girls on the beach earlier this summer and, hidden from the view of adults, undid his trousers and committed a sex act on himself.
“He was later confronted by the mother of one of them, who had gone looking for him with her daughter, ” he said. “She found him in Gladstone Park, Barry, watching other children playing tennis.”
Newell denied doing anything wrong, but later telephoned the police himself and confessed, saying he needed help. Judge Jacobs told him: “You certainly do need help and the public needs protecting.”
He said during the 1980s and 1990s, when Newell appeared before local courts for indecent exposure, he had been regarded as nothing more than a pest. But he added: “By 1998 it became clear your offending was directed at children.
“You were put on probation and, when that failed, sent to prison for 12 months. Today’s sentence puts you at risk of going back to jail even after your release, for the next five years.”
The judge said Newell would have to register as a sex offender for life and imposed a lifetime ban on him being involved in any work with children.
