A MARRIED Elvis Presley impersonator has been found guilty of paying a 16-year-old girl to have sex with him before he gave her a tattoo.

Adrian Edwards, 57, from Newport had sex with her in his piercing room after the young girl – under-age for a tattoo – pleaded with him to give her a tattoo.

Newport Crown Court heard that sex took place at his tattoo parlour in Caerphilly after the girl had "pestered" him for a tattoo and told him: "I'll do anything".

Edwards later had intercourse and oral sex with the girl on a string of occasions there, prosecutor James Wilson said.

The defendant, of Caerleon Road, was found guilty be a jury after a trial of two counts of paying for the sexual services of a girl aged 16 and 17.

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He was cleared of one count of paying for the sexual services of a girl aged 16 and 17.

Edwards had denied the offences and pleaded not guilty.

South Wales Argus:

Adrian Edwards. (Image: Wales News Service)

The complainant, now a woman, told jurors that she and Edwards had sex before she was 18 and that it "never should have happened”.

She said: "I asked him for a tattoo. I told him I wouldn't tell anyone because I was under-age.

"I told him I would do anything for a tattoo. I didn't mean it like that."

She tearfully told the court that she had sex with Edwards in his piercing room before having her first tattoo.

The woman said she went on to have sex with Edwards many more times and he would often give her money after.

Julia Cox, defending, suggested the girl was over the age of 18 when she first had sex with Edwards.

She replied: "No I was a lot younger than 18."

Miss Cox asked her if she was exaggerating the details of the sex because she regretted what happened.

The girl replied: "No, I wouldn't say exaggerate because that's a very strong word and it's not the truth."

Asked if she regretted it, she replied: "It never should have happened."

The court heard Edwards paid the victim for sex and she used the cash to buy alcohol and hair extensions and the defendant continued paying the victim for sex after she turned 18-years-old.

But the jury were told only to consider alleged crimes before her 18th birthday when she was too young to accept payment for sex.

The court heard she contacted the police in 2019 and was interviewed about her allegations.

Edwards claimed the girl asked him for money on a number of occasions before they had sex and he had given her £100.

The defendant is due to be sentenced on October 26 and he was granted conditional bail.

The judge, Recorder Dyfed Llion Thomas, warned Edwards: “Immediate custody is a very real option.”