A paedophile secretly acquired a passport and used it to go on holiday to Bulgaria with an unsuspecting family who knew nothing of his previous convictions.
Andrew Priday has 71 previous crimes and was added to the sex offenders’ register for life, which requires him to inform police about any passports he holds, as well as plans to travel abroad, at least a week before departure.
The brazen offender applied for and was granted a passport in January 2021 but told police he did not have one during subsequent annual registration statements, Swansea Crown Court heard.
Earlier this year, a well-meaning family who knew Priday offered him a bed in their holiday apartment in Bulgaria. The 61-year-old paedophile flew in from Cardiff Airport on 17 June and met the parents and the boy for seven days.
The father of the family, who was on holiday, later told police he felt “sick” and was “physically shaking” when he heard about Priday’s past convictions.
Andrew Priday (pictured) has 12 previous convictions for 71 offences between 1997 and 2005.
On his return to the UK, the defendant was arrested and subsequently gave an interview in which he made virtually no comment.
He was also found to have a phone that he had not reported to police.
Priday has a history of lying about his previous convictions for sex crimes, including about the woman he was supposed to marry.
A judge at Swansea Crown Court said Priday’s recent breaches of the requirements imposed on him were “determined and tortuous”.
Priday, of Dyfatty, Swansea, pleaded guilty to three counts of breaching a sexual offences prevention order and three counts of failing to comply with the requirements of the sex offenders registration scheme when he appeared in the dock to be sentenced.
The 61-year-old, who has already served two lengthy sentences for child sex offences, was jailed for 32 months.
The defendant has 12 previous convictions for 71 offences between 1997 and 2005, including 12 convictions for sexual offences.
In 1995 he was sentenced to seven years in prison at Cardiff Crown Court for indecent assault of a child and gross indecency with a child.
In 2005, he was given an extended sentence of 11 years as a dangerous offender for indecent assault of a child, sexual activity with a child, creating indecent images and possession of indecent images.
He also has convictions for violating the terms of the sex offender registry and obtaining financial advantage by false pretenses, meaning he failed to disclose his past convictions when applying for a job.
Priday also made false statements about his criminal record to his fiancée when she applied for a marriage license.
On behalf of the sex offender, barrister Andrew Evans argued there was no indication of any inappropriate behaviour by the defendant during the holiday in Bulgaria but accepted his client’s compliance with the conditions and requirements to which he was subject had “failed” in recent years.
A judge at Swansea Crown Court (pictured) said Priday’s recent breaches of the requirements imposed on him were “determined and tortuous”.
Judge Geraint Walters said Priday appeared to have “given up any pretence” of complying with the requirements of the sex offenders register and the Sexual Offences Prevention Order.
He said the reality was that Priday’s breaches were “determined and devious”.
With a one-third discount for his guilty pleas, Priday was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison.
He will serve up to half of that period in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community.
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