Paedophile hostel 'safe' claims

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/wales/8098285.stm

Version 0 of 1.

The probation service has defended housing a sex offender in a bail hostel close to a housing estate in Wrexham.

Patrick Brendon Smith, 44, had been living at the Plas y Wern hostel in Plas Madoc when he attempted to groom two schoolgirls for sex.

He was given an indefinite prison sentence at Caernarfon Crown Court on Friday after pleading guilty.

North Wales Probation Area said public protection was priority and the hostel enabled them to "monitor" offenders.

Campaigners have repeatedly called for paedophiles to be banned from the hostel near the Plas Madoc estate, and have held protest marches over the issue.

Residents on the estate claim the hostel is too close to a school to house sex offenders.

Last month after Smith pleaded guilty to grooming charges, Martyn Jones, MP for Clwyd South, said he felt "let down" by the probation service.

Over the years, Plas y Wern has provided a place where we have been able to monitor and manage offenders and organise their return to the community North Wales Probation Area spokesman

He said he had been given assurances that dangerous offenders would not be housed there.

But it has emerged that Smith, who is originally from County Meath in Ireland, had a string of previous convictions, including child rape and other sexual attacks.

North Wales Probation Area said, however, that housing Smith and other offenders at the hostel allowed them to keep a closer watch on them after they are released from prison.

"Over the years, Plas y Wern has provided a place where we have been able to monitor and manage offenders and organise their return to the community," a spokesman said.

"If the hostel did not exist, offenders would be released straight into the community with much less supervision. It's a question of balancing a difficult scenario and we believe that approved premises like Plas y Wern are the safer option for society.

Smith's probation hostel was just a few hundred metres from Plas Madoc

"Because of the stringent regime at Plas y Wern and the close cooperation between the Probation Service and the Police, Smith was caught very quickly when the offences came to light and was returned to custody."

He added: "We are mindful of the concerns of local people. We would like to assure them that our first priority at all times is public protection and, for that reason, it is important that Plas y Wern continues to provide this service."

The court heard that Smith was arrested at the Plas y Wern hostel in January this year, after trying to persuade a 12-year-old and a 13-year-old girl to meet him in a pub car park at Acrefair.

Smith pleaded guilty to two offences of trying to arrange or facilitate sexual activity with a child.

Sentencing, Judge Hughes said Smith's previous convictions and pre-sentence reports convinced him that the sex offender was a "significant risk of serious harm" to the public.

Parole board

He said an assessment of Smith placed him at a "very high risk of reoffending, a high risk of sexual offending, and it is believed that the risk to young females is very high".

The judge said he would be imposing a sentence of imprisonment for public protection.

It means Smith must serve a minimum jail term of two years and three months before he can apply for parole.

However, a parole board must then consider whether he still poses a risk, and Smith will stay in prison until he is no longer a public threat.