Welsh territorial police force serving Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly, Monmouthshire, Newport and Torfaen
An ongoing operation into group-based child sexual exploitation in south Wales has led to eight men being charged across Newport, Swansea, London, Birmingham, Lancashire, Edinburgh and Argyll and Bute. The charges involve rape of minors and facilitating sexual exploitation dating from 1985 to 1996. Prosecutions continue.
Multiple UK outlets report on Christopher Phillips, 60, who pleaded guilty to preventing a lawful burial and fraud after storing his mother Sylvia Phillips’s body in a chest freezer in Porthcawl, Wales. He benefited from pensions and benefits while disguising her death; he has been sentenced to two years and four months in prison.
Two separate Welsh cases are evolving: a woman died after an assault in Merthyr Tydfil, with an inquest opened; a 14-year-old boy faced murder charges in Blaina with a trial date set. Police say inquiries remain ongoing, and communities are receiving support.