Court hears mothers feared children would be taken as man also tried to enter nursery the following day
A MAN who tried to abduct two young children from a splash park in Cardiff has been sentenced to detention in a mental health facility.
Moynul Janu, 34, of no fixed abode, admitted attempted kidnap following incidents at Victoria Park in Cardiff on July 3, 2025, and at a nursery in Bridgend county the following day.
Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court heard that Janu approached children playing in the fountains at the free-to-use splash pad in Victoria Park before targeting two youngsters in front of their mothers.
In one incident, he touched a girl under the age of five on the leg before her mother intervened. The court was told the woman immediately pulled her daughter away and moved towards another parent to explain what had happened.
But Janu followed her and stood between the two women, telling them he was “grabbing the kids” before taking hold of the arm of each child.
The mothers shouted at him and blocked his path. The court heard he also tapped one of the children on the head before walking away and appearing to speak into a smartwatch.
Janu later told staff at the park he had not been taking photographs and claimed he had no phone, saying the smartwatch was not charged. He also said he was looking for work, was married with children in Bangladesh, and was homeless in the UK.
Police were called and removed him from the park, taking him to Cardiff city centre, where he was released.
The following day, Janu was seen inside the reception area of a nursery in Bridgend county, where 17 children were being cared for.
When challenged by a member of staff, he pushed past and attempted to reach the children in a locked area by entering numbers into a keypad on the wall.
Lockdown procedures were immediately activated at the nursery. Janu remained in the hallway and outside the building for around 15 minutes before leaving. He was arrested nearby soon afterwards.
The court heard that the incidents had caused lasting trauma for the families involved.
In a victim impact statement, the mother of one of the children from Victoria Park said she believed “he would have taken her if he’d had the opportunity”.
The court was also told that her daughter later woke up screaming: “He is coming to get me.”
The mother of the second child said: “A strange man tried to take my child in front of me without registering what he was doing was wrong.”
She said she had become frightened that Janu might come to her home and take her child, and worried that her own anxiety would affect her child in the future.
The court heard Janu has a history of mental illness, and he was sentenced to ongoing detention in a mental health unit rather than prison.
