I AM writing this to express my displeasure of a report in last week’s Barry & District News.

My son pleaded guilty to a sex offence and was sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court on July 21.

Since it appeared in the newspaper he has been suspended from work and in danger of losing his job where he has been employed for 14 years.

He is receiving threats through his mobile phone and is aware of other people on social media web sites making comments and threats putting the family home at risk.

The article was not a court report but a police press office release to praise the officers of a new unit for their good work.

In reality his case was part of a much bigger investigation with the complainant involved with two other men all not known to each other and from various parts of the country, the detail of which cannot be mentioned as they are still to appear in court.

The judge in summing up stated that Nicholas’s case was at the lower end of the scale and far less serious than the others involved. The words describing Nicholas as “ a manipulative man” were never used. The actual words used to describe him were naivety and vulnerability. The indecent images was one topless photograph.

He has no history of anything like this but it does highlight the perils of the internet in today’s world.

One error of judgement has resulted in him receiving a very heavy penalty.

I don’t in any way condone what he has done and he deserves to be punished but what I am seriously concerned about is the reaction that this article has caused and the stress that this has put on the whole family, not to mention the potential danger from the threats.

Stuart Daniels

via e-mail