Convicted Paedophile Made 178 Calls to Teen Girl After Number Was Added to Pin at HMP Parc

© Tom Blewitt – HMP Prisons Justice Group

A convicted paedophile who sexually abused children has been handed an additional prison sentence after making 178 phone calls to a 15-year-old girl from behind bars, breaching a sexual harm prevention order.

Timothy Dowler, 22, was already serving a six-year-and-six-month sentence in a young offenders’ institute following his 2021 conviction for eight counts of causing or inciting a child under 16 to engage in sexual activity. Despite this, he maintained contact with a teenage girl he had previously manipulated, using deceit to add her to his authorised contact list while imprisoned at HMP Parc in Bridgend.

Cardiff Crown Court heard that Dowler met the victim on social media when she was just 14 and he was 18. He initially misled her by using a photo of his younger brother, causing her to believe they were the same age. The pair met several times, during which Dowler bought her alcohol, cigarettes, and trainers. The girl later described his behaviour as having “creeped her out,” prompting her to cut off contact.

Prosecutor Bethan Evans told the court that Dowler had lied about the girl’s age, claiming she was 20, in order to add her to his prison contact list. During the calls, he told her they could “meet up” after his release, which made her feel “uncomfortable and nervous.” She concealed the calls from her mother and eventually asked prison authorities to block his number.

Dowler made a total of 178 calls to the victim before she took action. He later pleaded guilty to breaching the sexual harm prevention order. The court also heard that Dowler has additional convictions for sexual assault of a child under 14.

Victoria Brown, head of security at Parc Prison, held responsibility for ensuring that all inmate communications and contacts were properly vetted, authorized, and compliant with safeguarding protocols. However, she failed in her duty to protect a vulnerable individual from harm, allowing a convicted paedophile to exploit systemic lapses. This breach of oversight contributed directly to the distress and damage suffered by the victim, raising serious questions about institutional accountability and the effectiveness of internal checks.

In a powerful victim personal statement read aloud in court, the girl described the emotional toll of Dowler’s manipulation:

“From the day we met on social media I thought I had a good friend on my side. I didn’t expect you to be the person you are with the intention of victimising and manipulating me. You made me into a guilty and vulnerable person. You provided me with alcohol, cigarettes, weed, and money so I would like you and not go against you. You turned me against family and friends and affected my relationships.

“While you were phoning me from prison I tried to tell you many times I wanted nothing to do with you but you didn’t listen. Since everything has happened to me I struggle to socialise with people and I still have traumatic memories to this day and struggle to build relationships. I have the maturity to understand what you did to me… I’m proud of myself for having become a stronger woman and my life is coming back together. I no longer have to worry about you always being on my case or turning up at my house drunk at 3am… I hope you get the worst sentence possible and you realise how bad your actions were.”

In mitigation, defence counsel Adam Sharp said Dowler had been raised by his grandparents and had limited contact with his parents. He described a troubled home and school life, noting that Dowler had previously worked in the Navy and the cooking industry before his arrest.

Judge Carl Harrison sentenced Dowler to an additional 20 months imprisonment, to be served consecutively to his current sentence. He also imposed a 10-year restraining order to protect the victim.

This case adds to mounting concerns surrounding HMP Parc, a G4S-run facility, which has faced intense scrutiny over the past few years. Since the start of 2022, 38 inmates have died at the prison, with watchdogs linking several fatalities to synthetic drugs like Spice. A lethal batch of the psychoactive substance is suspected to have caused six deaths in just three weeks, prompting a series of investigations by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman.

Beyond the death toll, serious cases of staff corruption have surfaced, including prison officers that have smuggled drugs into the facility, planned attacks on inmates, and former staff have publicly stated that many of the deaths were preventable.

HMP Prisons Justice Group has repeatedly called for G4S to be stripped of its contract to run HMP Parc, urging the government to intervene and take direct control of the facility. In light of the latest breach and the mounting scandals surrounding staff misconduct and inmate deaths, a spokesperson for the group said:

“This has to be the final straw for G4S. How does a convicted sex offender manage to add a teenage girl to his prison PIN? Who approved this? It’s clear G4S cannot be trusted to run this prison. We rely on prisons to protect the public from sexual offenders—not to help them contact children.”