A trans-identified male in Wales who previously avoided prison for his part in a national child pornography ring has been busted by a local group of volunteers working to catch sexual predators. David Griffiths, 69, who dresses up in women’s clothing and calls himself Penny Price and alternatively Mabel Mint, was turned over to authorities by Innocent Voices Stings on January 4 in Connah’s Quay after members of their team had been sent pornography by Griffiths via a decoy which he believed was a 14 year-old girl.
In a live video streamed to the Innocent Voices Facebook page, Griffiths can be seen being interrogated by a volunteer identified as ‘Izzy’ before police officers arrive to arrest him. Izzy describes the interactions that took place online between Griffiths and the decoy.
“You start off talking like you’re going to save these children. ‘You girls are beautiful.’ You’ve made numerous photos of this child which make her look a lot older and sexualized,” Izzy said.
“You’ve sent porn videos to this child, you’ve sent pictures of you dressed as ‘Penny’ with your penis out, and you’ve sent a video of you dressed as ‘Penny,’ and you pan down and show her your penis. Do you think that’s right to do to a 14 year-old child?”
Izzy continued by emphasizing that during the course of Griffiths’ grooming efforts, he would find ways to disparage the girl’s appearances in a bid to force emotional dependence on the would-be victim.
“The thing that really used to make me feel sick is you used to say to this child, ‘Oh, can you send a picture?’ and she’d send a normal picture. You’d say something like, ‘Your hair is a bit wild, or, ‘You look tired.’ You’d always put this child down. Then you’d say, ‘Don’t let anyone put you down. Mummy Penny’s here to look after you.’”
During the course of the questioning, Griffiths looks away and denies the accusations, but at one point can be heard asking Izzy which child she is referring to.
“So how many different children have you spoken sexually to?” Izzy responds. “They’re coming forward. Different teams are saying that you’ve spoken to people they know,” she responds, suggesting that other predator hunting groups have had interactions with Griffiths.
“But I’m more concerned about the real children that we don’t know about. I know at least three. I’m not going to give their names, but they’re the ones you said you’ve received indecent images from.”
Griffiths has previously avoided a prison term after he pleaded guilty to 11 counts of distributing indecent images, with another 108 similar offenses that were taken into “consideration.” In 2001, walked out of the Old Bailey courthouse smiling despite acknowledging his involvement in a child pornography ring wherein he sent indecent images and videos to other pedophiles he met through a pen-pal agency.
Griffiths and two other men were only handed community rehabilitation orders, even though one co-conspirator, Graeme McLeod, wrote in a letter after his arrest: “There has been a considerable amount of discussion recently about rehabilitation, even curing pedophiles. I do not believe this is possible. I am a pedophile.”
Griffiths’ rehabilitation order was set to 15 months, and he was required to register as a sex offender for five years. In total, the investigation resulted in 15 arrests across the UK.
This is not the first trans-identified male who has been caught in a predator sting in recent months.
Just days ago, a trans-identified male from Ohio was caught in a sting in Indianapolis, USA, after attempting to meet with a child for sexual abuse. During the interview with predator hunters, Alice Blaze Clark admitted to being sexually attracted to infants.
In mid-2023, a trans-identified male who had been caught in multiple, unrelated predator stings was finally imprisoned at a Sussex court after admitting to having “uncontrollable sexual urges” towards children.
Danielle Edney, who also goes by the name Ariana Grande, had told a decoy posing as a 13-year-old to “pack an overnight bag and bring her school uniform and bikini.” He also reportedly instructed the girl to visit a sexual health clinic for condoms prior to the meeting and spoke of using restraints on her. In August of 2023, he was jailed for 4 years.