Father’s horror as he realises he has taken ‘devious’ paedophile, 61, with 71 previous offences on family holiday to Bulgaria by mistake

A pedophile secretly obtained a passport and used it to holiday in Bulgaria with an unsuspecting family who knew nothing of his previous convictions.

Andrew Priday has 71 previous violations and was added to the sex offenders register for life. Under this, he must inform the police of any passports he may have and of any plans to travel abroad at least one week before departure.

The brazen criminal applied for and was granted a passport in January 2021, but told police he did not have one in subsequent annual registration declarations, Swansea Crown Court heard.

This year, a well-meaning family who knew Priday offered him a bed in their holiday apartment in Bulgaria. The 61-year-old paedophile flew out of Cardiff Airport on 17 June and joined the parents and child for seven days.

The father of the holidaying family later told police he felt “sick” and was “physically shaking” when he heard about Priday’s previous convictions.

When the suspect returned to the UK he was arrested and subsequently gave an interview in which he was largely non-commentary.

He also appeared to have a telephone with him, but he had not told the police about this.

Priday has a history of lying about his previous convictions for sexual abuse, including to the woman he was to marry.

A judge at Swansea Crown Court described Priday’s recent breaches of the requirements imposed on him as “determined and devious”.

Priday, of Dyfatty, Swansea, pleaded guilty to three charges of breaching a Sexual Offences Prevention Order and three charges of failing to comply with the requirements of the Sex Offenders Registration Scheme when he appeared for sentencing.

The 61-year-old, who has already served two lengthy sentences for child sex offences, was given a 32-month prison sentence.

The suspect was convicted 12 times between 1997 and 2005 for 71 crimes, including 12 for sexual offenses.

In 1995 he was sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment at Cardiff Crown Court for indecent assault on a child and gross indecent assault on a child.

In 2005, he was sentenced to an additional 11 years as a dangerous criminal for sexual assault on a child, sexual acts with a child, making indecent images and possessing indecent images.

He was also convicted of breaching the terms of the sex offenders register and obtaining financial advantage by false pretences, meaning he failed to declare his previous convictions when applying for a job.

Priday also made false statements about his criminal past to his fiancée when he applied for a marriage license.

On behalf of the sex offender, lawyer Andrew Evans argued that there was no inappropriate behavior by the suspect during the Bulgarian holiday. He did acknowledge that his client had done too little in recent years to meet the conditions and requirements he had to meet.

A judge at Swansea Crown Court (pictured) said Priday’s recent breaches of the requirements imposed on him were ‘determined and devious’

Judge Geraint Walters said Priday had “given up any pretence” that he would comply with the requirements of the Sex Offenders Register and the Sexual Offences Prevention Order.

In reality, he said, Priday’s intrusions were “determined and cunning.”

With a one-third reduction for his guilty plea, Priday was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison.

He will spend a maximum of half of that time in custody, after which he will be released on probation to serve the remainder of the time in the community.