{"id":912124,"date":"2026-04-22T23:57:39","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T23:57:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/912124\/"},"modified":"2026-04-22T23:57:39","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T23:57:39","slug":"man-accused-of-grooming-child-has-been-working-for-welsh-travel-company","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/912124\/","title":{"rendered":"Man accused of grooming child has been working for Welsh travel company"},"content":{"rendered":"

Joel Collier worked for Cardiff University before joining the travel agency\"walesonline\"<\/p>\n

19:41, 22 Apr 2026<\/p>\n

\"Joel<\/p>\n

Joel Collier in an image from the press package of his personal website<\/p>\n

A Welsh travel company hired a man accused of abusing a child. Joel Collier, 36, has been named in an American civil lawsuit in which it is claimed he groomed a girl from the age of 14.<\/p>\n

When we first reported on the case last year, Mr Collier was working as an “impact officer” for Cardiff University<\/a>. At the time, the university said it was “looking into the serious matters raised” and its spokeswoman has now confirmed the American is no longer an employee.<\/p>\n

But we can now reveal Mr Collier has recently been working for Evertrek, a Caerphilly<\/a> firm that books trekking holidays at destinations such as Kilimanjaro and Machu Picchu. Stay in the know by making sure you\u2019re receiving our daily newsletter<\/a><\/p>\n

Earlier this month his profile disappeared from its website, which had described him as an “adventure expert”. The business refused to answer our questions about his role and whether it knew about the case before he was hired.<\/p>\n

Last year a 23-year-old woman brought a lawsuit in Kentucky against the Salvation Army, a charitable organisation that employed Mr Collier when he was living in the USA. The claim seeks damages for alleged negligence in hiring and for failing in its duty to protect children.<\/p>\n

It alleges that when the claimant was a teenager she met Mr Collier at a Salvation Army music camp where he taught. He is alleged to have subjected the girl to “non-consensual intercourse and perverse, violent and obscene sexual acts at various locations in Kentucky and Tennessee”.<\/p>\n

At the time, Mr Collier was a music director for Salvation Army’s Kentucky and Tennessee division. The lawsuit alleges he was recruited to this role despite having previously been fired by a different territory of the Salvation Army over “sexually graphic texts with a minor female” and been placed on an internal register of people suspected of abuse.<\/p>\n

Evertrek, based at Caerphilly Business Park, described Mr Collier on its website as an “adventure expert and singing yeti” who brought to the team “a mix of adventure, talent and personality”. It says the term “yeti” refers to “anyone that works here”.<\/p>\n

The mention of singing appears to be in reference to Mr Collier’s musical background. He was a lead baritone singer in the Treorchy-based Cory Band \u2013 one of the world’s most decorated brass bands \u2013 until news of the court case broke last year, prompting the band to “immediately terminate” his membership.<\/p>\n

According to Companies House records from last year, Evertrek had 10 employees. It also had \u00a3790,967 in assets and accrued income, but debts of some \u00a33.78m. Two years ago the UK Government-owned British Business Bank invested \u00a31.3m in the business to help it “create five new jobs and set up a small office in Hereford”.<\/p>\n

The lawsuit alleges that Mr Collier was dismissed by the Salvation Army’s New York-headquartered eastern territory in 2014 before being hired the following year by its southern territory.<\/p>\n

Mr Collier is alleged to have “sexually victimised” the claimant from the age of 14 including sending her sexually explicit text messages and “coercing” her into sending him intimate photos of herself. She claims that when she was 17 he “fondled” her vagina while he was driving a Salvation Army equipment truck.<\/p>\n

“Over time the graphic nature of Joel Collier’s messages to [the claimant] intensified to the point that he was telling her what type of sexual acts he expected from her when she turned 18,” the lawsuit alleges. “In fact Joel Collier made it very clear to her that she would need to perform these sexual acts if she wanted to remain in his good favour.”<\/p>\n

In 2020, on the day the claimant turned 18, Mr Collier is alleged to have texted her unsolicited footage of himself masturbating. Later that year he is alleged to have “repeatedly initiated sexual contact”.<\/p>\n

In December 2020 she attempted to take her own life “as a result of Collier\u2019s ongoing abuse”, according to the claim, which goes on: “Over the course of the next two years \u2013 as a result of Collier\u2019s common scheme and plan of dismantling her capacity to consent and sexually victimising her beginning when she was 14 years old \u2013 Collier repeatedly sexually abused her.<\/p>\n

“This included non-consensual intercourse and perverse, violent, and obscene sexual acts at various locations in Kentucky and Tennessee including on property owned by the southern territory.”<\/p>\n

Mr Collier allegedly told the claimant to “describe herself in great physical detail when she was a child between the ages of seven and nine” and to send him pictures of herself as a young child.<\/p>\n

The claim alleges he told her it was “normal for men to have paedophilic kinks and fetishes but they had unfortunately become taboo in our society”. He sent her “numerous photographs of child pornography that he found online” and asked her to pick a \u201cfavourite\u201d, the filing alleges.<\/p>\n

Mr Collier has not responded to our approach for comment although last year the US broadcaster NBC News quoted him as saying he had not read the allegations \u201cbut I hope we\u2019re able to find a swift resolution to them\u201d.<\/p>\n

Last month a US judge denied some elements of the Salvation Army’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit and granted others due to “lack of personal jurisdiction”. The case continues.<\/p>\n

WalesOnline has asked Evertrek for more information about Mr Collier’s role, his current status, and what background checks it carried out before employing him.<\/p>\n

Its website states: “We pride ourselves on delivering world-class customer service for your life-changing, bucket-list adventures. From choosing your trip to training tips, vaccinations or gear advice, our team of adventure experts is here to make your journey smooth, stress-free and unforgettable.”<\/p>\n

Cardiff<\/a> University’s impact officer role is understood to have paid up to \u00a343,155 per year and involved working with academics “to develop the impact of their research”.<\/p>\n

If you would like to tell us more about this story, or another issue we should be investigating, you can email us at conor.gogarty@walesonline.co.uk<\/p>\n

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