A man who admitted attempting to meet a teenage boy and attempting to engage in sexual communication with a boy under 16 years old will not be sentenced until next month due to an administrative error.

Emyr Anthony, 59, of Hawthorn Avenue, Gorseinon, appeared at Llanelli Magistrates Court on March 10 where he indicated guilty pleas to attempting to meet and engage in sexual activity with a child.

He admitted a charge of being an adult attempting to meet a boy under 16 years of age following grooming, which is said to have taken place on March 8 in Cross Hands.

He also admitted a charge of being an adult attempting to engage in sexual communication with a boy under 16 years old. This also relates to an incident in Cross Hands on March 8 where he is said to have made sexual comments to a male child.

Anthony was remanded in custody and appeared at Swansea Crown Court yesterday, March 30, for sentencing.

Judge Her Honour Catherine Richards heard that there were problems withhow the charges had been recorded in the magistrates court.

“The case is administratively a mess,” she said. “This needs to be resolved before he can be properly sentenced. It looks like a valid committal, but it needs to be properly recorded.”

She told Anthony: “What happened here is what can be called an administrative error. The facts haven’t changed, or the prosecution case, but the exact criminal charge has not been properly set out by the prosecution. This must be done properly.”

Judge Richards said that she would vacate Anthony’s initial plea from the magistrates court and send the case back to the lower court.

Anthony will appear before Llanelli Magistrates court next month when the charges will be put to him again.

He will then appear again before Swansea Crown Court for sentencing at the end of the month. Judge Richards ordered that a pre-sentence report be compiled before this time.

She told Anthony that his credit for an early guilty plea would still stand and remanded him back into custody until that date.