Showjumper accused of having underage sex ‘talked of £50k pay off'

South Wales Argus

3 days ago

Horse-riding instructor Guy Simmonds, 37, called his mum from prison to ask her to take £20,000 from his account to pay the family of the school girl.
Simmonds was behind bars after being arrested after allegedly having a threesome with the girl and fellow rider Lauren Jarvis, 26.
A court heard Simmonds was recorded in phone calls saying: "They are so fickle. Buying that f***ing mum will work.
"There is £20,000 in my account. Just f***ing give it to them. I don't care."
He added: "£20,000 now and then £10,000 a year for three years."
Prosecutor James Hartson said there was a "clear element of grooming behaviour" from Simmonds who had "no doubt at all" about the victim's age.
He said: "At all times he knew how old she was and so did Jarvis. The victim told him herself in one of the very first messages she sent him.
"The defendants didn't care about her age when they were planning and engaging in a so-called threesome with the victim.
"They also knew what they did was wrong and they agreed a pact of silence when they got wind she had started to talk about it."
Cardiff Crown Court heard Simmons messaged Jarvis saying: "Hey, I have a feeling that she has said about us. If anyone asks for sake of both of us nothing ever happened that night xx."
Jarvis replied: "Hey, who's she told? Oh god has she really, what's she trying to do, make our lives hell? Of course I will xx."
Giving evidence, Simmonds said he had visited the home of Jarvis to have sex with her in January last year while the victim was downstairs.
He said: "I went to put my clothes back on and she (the girl) appeared in the room. She came upstairs to the door of the room.
"She was just stood there, she had come a couple of feet into the room. She was clothed.
"I was just in my boxer shorts. I had just literally pulled them up. I said something like: 'This is awkward.' I carried on putting my clothes back on."
Simmonds denied any sexual contact with the victim and claimed the girl had faked WhatsApp conversations relating to the alleged threesome.
The court heard Simmonds previously had a successful career in falconry working at London Zoo and keeping falcons for the king of Saudi Arabia in Dubai.
He also featured in a TV show for Horse and Country following his journey from Wales to Mongolia while exploring his passion for falconry and horsemanship.
Simmonds denied any sexual contact with the victim and told police that Jarvis was a "friend with benefits" and they had sex about four times.
Following the alleged threesome he messaged Jarvis to say: "Hey, I have a feeling that she has said about us. If anyone asks for sake of both of us nothing ever happened that night xx."
But he claimed he sent this message because the girl had been "texting everybody absolute c**p" and "being a nuisance" in a row over other females she believed were close to him.
Simmonds is accused of six counts of sexual activity with a child and Jarvis faces one charge of sexual activity with a child.
Simmonds, from Undy, Monmouthshire and Jarvis, from Newport, deny all charges.
The trial, before Judge Lucy Crowther, continues.