A 78-year-old man from Abergavenny has been sentenced to almost two decades behind bars for offences relating to historic child sex abuse that took place in the town.

Daniel Hickey, who is formerly of Bishop Crescent, changed his plea for nine of the 25 counts brought against him at trial in August last year, but it has taken another 14 months for sentencing to take place due to delays in the judicial process. In April this year, Hickey applied to vacate his guilty pleas and in September, a hearing finally took place confirming that the convicted paedophile would be unable to do so.

They include five counts of sexual activity with a child, one count of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, one count of causing or inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity, one count of sexual assault of a child under 13 and one count of rape.

The court was told the pensioner, who once served served in the armed forces, was aware of the “significant” custodial sentence that would be imposed upon him.

At Cardiff Crown Court on Wednesday October 7, Hickey was sentenced to 19 years in prison, reduced to 17-and-a-half years owing to his previous guilty pleas. Due to the nature of the offences, the defendant was also given a special custodial sentence, or Sentence for Offenders of Particular Concern. This is given to offenders convicted of specific child sex and/or terrorism offences. As a result, Hickey will face a mandatory one-year license period in addition to time served. He must serve at least two thirds of that sentence before he is eligible for parole.

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    In his sentencing remarks, Judge Daniel Williams told the defendant he had “conditioned and manipulated” the child at a very vulnerable age and “deliberately isolated” them.

    Hickey, who had appeared to have hearing difficulties, shouted from the dock and told the judge “that’s not true”, to which the judge replied “so you can hear me, Mr Hickey.”

    The defendant was told to stand as he learned his fate, ending a near six-year wait for justice since the first report was made to the police. The woman he abused, who is now in her thirties, previously told The Chronicle she had lost faith in the criminal justice system having endured repeated delays and postponements to hearings. The hearing to determine whether Hickey could vacate his guilty pleas was delayed four times alone, while the initial sentencing hearing was delayed three times in 2025 due to psychiatric reports ordered by the abuser’s former defence team.

    The Judge told Daniel Hickey his attempts to “draw out” the process added a further sense of injustice to the traumatic experiences he inflicted upon his partner’s daughter. Mr Williams also said that while he was new to the case, he was “very, very sorry” for the impact that the many delays and postponements throughout the case, and that the court “wishes her the future she deserves.”

    A restraining order has also been imposed for an indefinite period.