Pendine man who plied teen with drink and drugs before raping her in caravan is jailed

Leon Kidner took the 15-year-old girl to a caravan in the seaside resort of Pendine, Carmarthenshire, on 13 June last year.

Swansea Crown Court heard that Kidner waited until she had fallen asleep before carrying out the attack.

Kidner, of Pendine, was charged with rape and two counts of assault by penetration.

He denied all three charges, forcing his victim to give evidence in court.

However, a jury convicted him of all three offences after hearing the evidence in the case.

Kidner appeared at Swansea Crown Court for sentencing on Tuesday 3 March, where he was jailed for ten years.

Following the sentencing, the Crown Prosecution Service said Kidner had taken advantage of the situation for his own sexual gratification.

Samantha Mainwaring of the CPS said he had used his power over the girl to intoxicate her, making her even more vulnerable to his attack.

“These convictions result from the Crown Prosecution Service presenting strong evidence to the jury, rebutting Kidner’s claim that the sexual acts were consensual,” she said.

Ms Mainwaring also praised the victim for her bravery in coming forward and supporting the prosecution.

“The victim showed courage in reporting the offences and supporting the case. Through her strength this rapist has been brought to justice,” she added.

Dyfed-Powys Police’s investigating officer, Detective Constable Katie Rees, also paid tribute to the victim’s “profound courage”.

“I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks and gratitude to the victim in this case who showed profound courage from the very outset of the investigation, despite her young age,” she said.

DC Rees said the victim had shown “immense strength, character and resilience” and should be proud of how she had conducted herself throughout the investigation.

“It is thanks to her bravery that Leon Kidner will now spend a significant period in prison,” she added.

In addition to the ten-year jail term, Kidner was also made the subject of a lifelong Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

He was also ordered to register as a sex offender for life, and a restraining order was imposed for life.

Carmarthenshire pensioner jailed for abducting and drugging 15‑year‑old girl

Dyfed‑Powys Police said Richard Knight, of Pendine, was sentenced to three years and nine months after admitting a string of drug offences and making indecent images of children, and after changing his plea to guilty on the child abduction charge moments before his trial was due to begin at Swansea Crown Court.

Police said the case began in the early hours of 11 April 2022 when a distressed mother called officers after receiving a panicked phone call from her 15‑year‑old daughter, who said she wanted to come home after taking drugs at Knight’s house.

Officers forced entry into the property when they got no answer at the door. Inside, they found a small cannabis grow but no sign of Knight or the girl. Police later learned Knight had driven the teenager home and he was arrested when he returned to the address.

Dyfed‑Powys Police said Knight was initially arrested on suspicion of drink‑driving, possession of cannabis with intent to supply and supplying cannabis to a child. A further search uncovered a range of controlled drugs and several digital devices.

The victim later told officers she believed Knight knew she was 15 and knew she would not be telling her mother where she was going. She described being given a range of drugs, including some placed on a fruit pastel sweet. Police said CCTV showed Knight buying fruit pastels in a local shop shortly before picking her up.

A forensic examination of Knight’s devices uncovered 1,101 indecent images of children, including 122 in category A, the most serious classification. Officers also seized six different types of Class A drugs from the property. Police drugs experts valued the cannabis grow at between £6,000 and £20,000.

Knight admitted the drug offences in April 2025 and later pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children. He denied abducting the girl until the day his trial was due to start in January 2026, when he changed his plea.

Detective Constable Jon Gouldson, who led the investigation, said Knight had “groomed a young and vulnerable girl for his own satisfaction”.

“There is no doubt that Richard Knight knew that taking this 15‑year‑old girl into his home was wrong and ultimately amounted to child abduction,” he said.

“Taking a child without a parent’s permission is a crime. There are no grey areas here. We welcome today’s sentencing and want to be clear that arranging to take a child without a parent’s permission, or creating or possessing indecent images of children, is illegal and has serious consequences.”

Police said the case shows the lengths officers will go to in order to investigate child‑protection offences and bring offenders to justice.

Treath Pentywyn heddiw.

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