© Tom Blewitt & Zack Griffiths – Predator Awareness

Former Wales women’s rugby player and Cardiff City footballer Rhian Nokes has been sentenced to seven years in prison after being convicted of sexual activity with a minor, following offences that took place in 2010.

At the time, Nokes was working as a sports coach at a school in South Wales. The court heard that she abused her position of trust and authority to groom a 15-year-old pupil, gradually manipulating the teenager over the course of approximately a year.

Prosecutors outlined how Nokes initiated and maintained an intense level of communication with the victim, sending an estimated 12,000 text messages. The volume and persistence of contact formed part of a sustained pattern of psychological grooming designed to create emotional dependency and secrecy.

In one of the most disturbing aspects of the case, Nokes fabricated a serious medical condition, falsely claiming she had a brain tumour. She shaved her head to make the lie appear convincing and even pretended to suffer seizures in order to gain sympathy and strengthen the emotional hold she had over the teenager.

The victim later described feeling ‘lost, scared, and in denial’ when she eventually came to understand the extent of the deception. Initially, she had viewed Nokes as a role model — a respected sports figure and mentor — which made the betrayal particularly traumatic and confusing.

Nokes initially denied seven charges against her but changed her plea to guilty midway through the trial. The judge described the case as ‘unusual to the point of bizarreness,’ highlighting the calculated and manipulative behaviour involved and the predictable, devastating impact on the young victim.

In addition to the seven-year custodial sentence, the court ordered that Nokes be placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life. She also received a lifetime ban from playing rugby and was made subject to a restraining order preventing any form of contact with the victim.

Prosecutors stressed that Nokes had exploited both her professional role and her reputation within the sporting community to target a vulnerable young person. The abuse of trust in an educational setting was described as a serious aggravating factor.

Police praised the victim’s courage in coming forward, acknowledging the difficulty many survivors face when reporting abuse, particularly when the perpetrator is someone admired or in a position of authority.