A paedophile who used dice and marked playing cards to plan sexual offences against young girls has been jailed for more than six years.

Steven Loveridge, 60, from Ystalyfera, was described in court as a “determined paedophile” with “an entrenched sexual interest in young girls”.

He was charged with two counts of indecent exposure, two counts of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and a further three counts of possessing indecent images of children.

Loveridge pleaded guilty to all seven charges including the possession of 469 indecent images of children, with 82 of them being Category A images – the most serious rating for such offences.

Loveridge was sentenced to six years and seven months in prison when he appeared today at Swansea Crown Court. He will serve a further six years on licence at the end of his sentence. He has also been made subject to a 15-year restraining order and a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

The full extent of Loveridge’s depravity began to unfold when, upon arrest, he was found to be in possession of two multi-coloured dice along with a pack of modified playing cards.

The court heard how Loveridge would use the dice and cards as part of a game to dictate the nature of his offending and the age of his victims - which were always children.

It was told how certain colours on the dice would correspond to certain age groups of children, and the cards signalled which predatory action he intended to carry out.

An audio recording downloaded as evidence from the defendant’s phone indicated that the blue colour represented an age he referred to as ‘playgroup age’.

The playing cards were marked with words such as ‘kids’, ‘parents’, ‘follow’, ‘stop’, ‘pursuing’, ‘girl incoming’ and were used along with the dice as part of his disturbing game.

Searches of the defendant’s property and digital devices found annotated maps of local areas where he could encounter children, including playing fields, parks, and schools.

Further screenshots of digital maps were found to be marked with possible escape routes and the locations of known CCTV cameras.

Digital forensic examinations found internet searches for the start and finish times of schools in his local area, revealing how the timing, location, targeting and nature of his offending was pre-mediated to a startling degree.

Judge Catherine Richards said: “Your sexual interest in young children has existed since 2007. In recent years, you have been building up to contact sexual offences with meticulous planning. There is currently, plainly, further risk of you committing specified sexual offences, and a significant risk of you causing serious harm as a result.”

Loveridge was first arrested on Monday, December 9 2024, following a report of indecent exposure against two young girls, aged 12 and 13, inside the Home Bargains store in Ystradgynlais on Sunday, December 8 2024.

The court heard how Loveridge masturbated as he followed the girls around the shop, before exposing his penis to them, asking if they wanted to touch it. The girls immediately reported the incident to an adult in the store and Loveridge quickly left the scene.

A formal report was made to Dyfed-Powys Police and officers shared CCTV footage with neighbouring forces to identify the suspect. South Wales Police believed this to be the same man they were looking for in relation to a similar incident involving a nine-year-old girl at the Asda store in Ystalyfera just the week before.

Loveridge was then arrested in Ystradgynlais on suspicion of indecent exposure and inciting a child to engage in sexual activity. He was charged and remanded into custody.

Appearing at Swansea Crown Court on January 13 2025, Loveridge pleaded guilty to the offences committed against the 12 and 13-year-olds in Ystradgynlais and the nine-year-old in Ystalyfera.

DC Andy Leonard said: “The handwritten notes and audio recordings made by Steven Loveridge himself suggest that the offences he committed against the young girls in Ystradgynlais and Ystalyfera are just a glimpse of what this monster could be capable of.

“While the offences he has been sentenced for today are hideous enough alone, I believe the timing of his arrest was critical to preventing the escalation of his dangerous and criminal behaviour. The reality is, we don’t know how far Loveridge would have gone to satisfy his heinous sexual desires if he wasn’t behind bars today.”

Further digital investigations carried out in early 2025 uncovered a disturbing library of sexually explicit and abusive images of children that were dated as early as 2007.

While remanded in custody, Loveridge was further charged with the possession of indecent images of children and pleaded guilty at Merthyr Magistrates Court on Friday, April 4.

In addition to his custodial sentence, Loveridge has been issued with a 15-year restraining order and will be made subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order drafted by Dyfed-Powys Police’s Legal Services team.

DC Leonard said: “I would like to thank the victims and their families for their courage and support during the investigation. I hope that today’s sentence and the orders in place against Mr Loveridge provide a sense of justice and that they can feel safer knowing he is in prison. Every child should be able to feel safe in their community and not have to live with the fear of offenders like Mr Loveridge.

“The investigation demonstrated excellent collaborative work from colleagues in Dyfed-Powys Police across multiple departments from the arrest, building the case, bringing the offender to justice and work to draft the Sexual Harm Prevention Order. I would like to thank colleagues from South Wales for their support in the investigation and the CPS for their support and guidance throughout this complex investigation.

“I hope today’s sentence will be of some reassurance to the community and sends a clear message to perpetrators that crime against children is abhorrent, and that we as police will find the perpetrators and seek justice for the children involved.”