‘I am mortified to know he shared or sold images to other men. I know they will be around for the rest of my life and there’s nothing I can do about it. I feel a bit broken by it, it’s not something I can ever recover from’
16:57, 07 Nov 2025Updated 16:58, 07 Nov 2025
Paedophile Rowan Barnett-Davies, 24, catfished young girls online and tricked them into sending indecent images of themselves engaging in sexual activity(Image: South Wales Police)
A committed paedophile “catfished” young girls by pretending to be a teenager in order to gain indecent images of them engaging in sexual activity. He would then distribute the images to other paedophiles over social media, and used the images to blackmail his victims into sending more videos of themselves.
Rowan Barnett-Davies, 24, of Hirwaun, was a prolific paedophile, having contacted more than 20 girls as young as 11, in order to pressure them into sending images and videos of themselves posing naked or performing sexual acts upon themselves.
He did this while pretending to be a 15-year-old boy, and used a photograph of a real teenager in order to trick the girls he was in contact with.
A sentencing hearing at Newport Crown Court on Friday heard the police received intelligence that the defendant was in possession of child sexual abuse material, including more than 2,000 indecent images, and had been in contact with teenage girls online, as well as paying money to them. For the latest court reports sign up to our crime newsletter.
Prosecutor Martha Smith-Higgins said Barnett-Davies would make initial contact with his victims on Snapchat and “cast his net” to see who responded to messages.
He would use an image of a real 15-year-old boy to make his victims think they were speaking to a person of a similar age.
The defendant would quickly change the subject of conversations to that of a sexual nature, would ask victims for images and videos and in turn would send photos of his penis.
He was persistent with victims who blocked him, and would make efforts to resume contact by contacting their mothers and friends.
Barnett-Davies would make payment to his victim in return for images, which he would then distribute to other paedophiles on social media apps such as Telegram.
The defendant contacted around 120 young girls throughout the UK and the police investigation into his criminal behaviour was time consuming and logistically difficult.
Police first attended his home on December 21 last year and he was woken up by officers who seized his electronic devices. Upon being arrested, he responded “I’m f*****”.
A significant amount of material was found on the defendant’s phone of underage children engaging in sexual activity.
During his police interview, Barnett-Davies said he would use “X-recorder” to screen record videos sent to him on Snapchat, which would normally be automatically deleted after being viewed once.
He claimed he was speaking to children because he was “lonely” and “wanted attention”. The defendant claimed he was “not interested in children” but “liked pretty girls”.
Among the videos Barnett-Davies was sent, they included young girls performing sexual acts upon themselves or posing naked or in their underwear.
The defendant would send videos of himself masturbating, would ask to meet with children, would offer to buy them gifts such as vapes and clothes, and would use derogatory language towards his victims.
On one occasion, he asked one of his victim’s to send images of her younger sister, who was just six years old.
He also blackmailed his victims and told one that if she did not send more images of herself, he would post them on his social media account. She responded by sending more images and blocking him, but the victim’s mother noticed a change in her behaviour and she began self harming.
Another victim said she thought she was “in love” with the defendant’s persona and he told her she was the “most beautiful girl”. He would guilt-trip her into sending images.
He went on to contact the victim’s friend and told her the victim was mentally ill. The defendant sent indecent images of the victim to her friends, and one girl threatened to share them and turn them into stickers.
One victim said the defendant would manipulate her and make her feel she was a bad person. She was worried he would turn up at her home and would hurt her family.
Barnett-Davies later pleaded guilty to 21 counts of causing/inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, three counts of engaging in sexual communication with a child, 11 counts of distributing indecent images and seven counts of possessing indecent, prohibited and extreme images.
The court heard he was of previous good character.
Ms Smith-Higgins read out a number of victim personal statements from some of the defendant’s victims and their mothers.
One of the victims said: “I felt betrayed, I didn’t expect him to do this to me, I trusted him with everything, with conversations we’ve had, things we shared, things I told him about my life and the images I sent him. I feel betrayed as I didn’t know who I was speaking to, I didn’t know he was going to keep the images or screen record them in any way.”
Another victim said: “I feel embarrassed and ashamed, I’m really embarrassed people have seen my body and that I trusted him. I don’t really trust people now… I think about it almost every single day, wondering who has seen the photos, where they might be and will they ever be removed.”
In another statement, a victim said: “He gave me compliments about how pretty I was and he just wanted to talk. I felt really, really sorry for him. I would say I am a vulnerable teenager myself. I feel ashamed and embarrassed for what I have done and silly for believing him. I am mortified to know he shared or sold images to other men. I know they will be around for the rest of my life and there’s nothing I can do about it. I feel a bit broken by it, it’s not something I can ever recover from.”
One victim’s mother said: “You are calculated, manipulative and cruel. You preyed on children’s insecurities and groomed them until you found a gap in their vulnerability.”
Another victim said: “I thought you loved me and I was horribly wrong. What you did left an impact on me I may never get rid of. You took advantage of vulnerable children.”
In mitigation, Jac Brown said his client previously worked as a caterer, and this would be his first experience with the criminal justice system. The barrister said these offences will “define the course” of his client’s life.
Sentencing, Judge Daniel Williams said: “You have a deep rooted and entrenched sexual interest in the sexual abuse of young girls. For day after day, month after month and year after year, you preyed on young girls online, you knew where to find your prey and you knew how to catch them. Girls of this age are at a vulnerable stage in their development and many of your victims had additional vulnerabilities which you identified and exploited. You set out to damage your victims and to cause them unending harm.”
The judge added: “You have left an unimaginable trail of misery, your victims self harmed and variously felt betrayed, embarrassed, mortified, humiliated and hurt.”
Barnett-Davies was sentenced to eight years imprisonment with an extended licence period of four years.
The defendant was made subject to sex offender notification requirements indefinitely, and to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and restraining orders for 15 years.
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