Published date: 02 November 2015 |
Published by: Staff reporterRead more articles by Staff reporterEmail reporter
A KEY worker for a girl in care ended up giving her cannabis, a court was told.
But former soldier Steffan Rogers was cleared of allegations he had sex with her.
A jury was unable to reach a verdict on three charges of sexual activity with a child – for a second time.
The prosecution said it would not seek a third trial and he was formally found not guilty.
But Rogers was jailed for 16 months for supplying the cannabis which the judge said was in a clear breach of trust.
He had denied doing so but was convicted at an earlier hearing.
The judge, Mr Recorder Huw Rees, sitting at Mold Crown Court, told Rogers that at the time he was aged 26 and the girl was 15.
“She was a vulnerable young person living in a care home due to a terrible upbringing. She was entitled to find security and peace of mind in that care home.
“You were employed as her care worker to provide the care and security that she so desperately needed.”
Rogers had said he needed to build a rapport with her and that as her key worker he would go to her, as an adult friend, if she needed something.
But the judge said Rogers was was in a position of considerable trust. “By supplying her with cannabis on repeated occasions, you breached that trust. You abused your position and blatantly disregarded your responsibility.”
That was a seriously aggravating feature of his behaviour. He could have no credit in sentence because he had been convicted after trial, but the sentence would be reduced because of his previous good character and vulnerabilities.
The trial was disrupted on a number of occasions when Rogers, who said he suffered from shellshock – post traumatic stress disorder after active army service – went to psychiatric units before attending court.
He was then remanded in custody but was said to be too distressed to attend the last day of his trial.
In evidence, Rogers, 29, of Eleventh Avenue in Llay, wept in the witness box and said he was a decent person who had been affected by his active duty abroad
When his army record was put to him – which the prosecution said did not show active service abroad – he said it was classified.
Andrew Jebb, defending, told the court after the jury had been discharged that his client had been in the armed forces and he handed in references praising his work in the community, specifically with the army cadets.
But he had clearly let down the girl, his employers and himself very badly.
Mr Jebb said the girl had been taking cannabis since the age of 12 and it was not a case of corrupting someone who had not taken drugs before. The girl herself said it had happened four times.
Custody would be a very heavy emotional burden for Rogers, said Mr Jebb.
During the trial it was alleged Rogers had indulged in sex acts with the girl at her room in the home and in isolated places in his car.
Prosecutor Myles Wilson claimed Rogers groomed her, gave her special attention, took her out in his car and gave her cigarettes and cannabis.
Rogers would flirt with the girl and on occasions took her for a drive to the Llangollen area where they stopped in remote spots.
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