Operation Pallial – Wrexham Man Charged With 14 Further Offences

A 76-year-old man from Wrexham has been charged with 14 further offences following an investigation by Operation Pallial.

Roger Owen Griffiths, aged 76, has been charged with 11 offences of taking indecent images of children and three offences of possessing extreme pornographic images of children. These offences are alleged to have been committed between 2010 and 2014.

He will appear before Wrexham Magistrates on Friday January 2nd 2015 in connection with these matters.

Mr Griffiths has previously been charged with two offences of indecent assault against a boy. These offences are alleged to have taken place between 1982 and 1984, when the boy was aged between 12 and 14 years old.

All charges result from new enquiries made by officers working on Operation Pallial, a National Crime Agency investigation into recent allegations of past abuse in the care system in North Wales.

To date, a total of 35 people have now been arrested or interviewed under caution by NCA Officers. Of these 31 are men and 4 are women.

A total of 13 people have been charged. Of the remaining 22, 21 are on bail while investigations continue and one (a man from Wrexham arrested on October 31st 2013), has been released without charge. John Allen stood trial in November 2014 and was sentenced to life after a jury found him guilty of 33 offences.

The other 12 people charged are due to stand trial in 2015 for one or more offences, across a number of trials.

A total of 287 people have reported one or more account of abuse to Operation Pallial. Information provided by 236 people is under active investigation and has resulted in 120 people being identified as potential suspects, some of who have died. Work to identify further potential suspects and to update all victims is continuing.