September 2020
Swansea University student jailed for abusing young girl
A Swansea University student has been jailed after he groomed and then sexually assaulted a 12-year-old girl
Charles Bromley, 21 of Sketty, Swansea appeared at court where he was sentenced for attempted sexual intercourse with a child under 13 and sexual assault of a child.
The court was told that the grooming started around September 2018 soon after the victim joined the dating app OkCupid.
Bromley who at the time worked for Plantasia zoo contacted the victim on the app and asked for her Instagram handle so he could follow her.
Her profile showed her age was 12 and included pictures of her in school uniform
The conversations – which mostly took place on Snapchat – started in a friendly tone without any sexual remarks.
The Swansea University student told her he was doing a master’s in zoology and wanted to work with animals. He comforted her when she spoke of her struggles with mental health and how she had run away from home several times.
The pair messaged each other for more than six hours each day – sometimes much more. Soon he was weaving sexual comments into their conversations which saw the victim send a graphic image of herself.
After about two weeks of messages Bromley suggested they meet. The following Saturday afternoon they met at Singleton Park and walked to fast food joint Denny’s in Parc Tawe Retail Park.
He invited her back to his shared student house in Sketty
They watched a two films. After they finished the second film he invited her to stay the night with him and she agreed
Soon after their first meeting the messages from Bromley became more sexual which led to the victim sending another graphic image of herself.
They arranged to meet again. They ended up back at his shared house, where he engaged her in sexual activity
The police arrested Bromley on the same day as their interview with the victim and then released him on bail.
He was charged in May 2020 – 19 months on – with attempted intercourse with a child under 13 and sexual assault of a child.
He was sentenced to a four-year extended sentence comprising three years in custody and one year out on licence