November 2013
Rapist jailed for 19 years for attacks on young girls
A SPIRITUALIST has been jailed for 19 years after being convicted of a series of serious sex offences including rape.
Judge Huw Davies told 52-year-old William Bevan he had done “great harm” in his offending which took place against victims who were aged under 15 at the time of the offences.
Judge Davies said they were “serious offences” and “very grave”.
Bevan, from Cilmaengwyn in Pontardawe, had raped one victim and sexually assaulted the other by groping her breasts and touching her, Swansea Crown Court had heard during his trial last month.
Bevan had a previous conviction from when he was 23 for indecent assault but denied these offences, telling the jury he was part of an “elaborate plot” by the victims.
He was also sentenced for possessing extreme pornography after indecent images were found on his computer after his arrest.
He had told the jury they had been planted on his computer.
Mitigating for Bevan, his barrister, Frank Phillips, said: “He has been employed in a number of jobs and also been a very good worker and there’s no concerns about him in terms of his working life.”
He said since being remanded in custody Bevan had been diagnosed with early signs of Parkinson’s disease.
“He has been very down and it’s likely prison will be a very difficult experience for him,” said Mr Phillips.
Judge Davies said: “The nature of your offending comes as a shock to people who have known you in the course of your employment and in the community in which you live. It might surprise them to find out you’re not a person of past clean character.
“The offences you committed did great harm,” he said, before imposing a total term of 19 years.
After hearing the judge said he hoped the sentence would the offer the victims’ a “measure of consolation and closure”.
