A sex offender has been incarcerated for creating a new social media account without notifying the authorities.
Lee Challinor, residing in Bryn Offa, Wrexham, appeared at Mould Crown Court on Thursday.
The 49-year-old acknowledged at a prior hearing that he did not adhere to notification obligations under the Sexual Offences Act and violated his Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO).
Laura Knightly, prosecuting, told the court the defendant’s SHPO and notification requirements arose in 2019 when the defendant was convicted of 26 offences including attempting to cause a child to watch a sex act and engage in a sex act, as well as the making and distribution of indecent images of children.
The SHPO was breached in 2021, and he received a suspended sentence.
Ms Knightly said the matters before the court on Thursday concerned a police visit to his premises in June this year, during which he admitted he’d set up a new account on a social media platform and that he’d failed to register it, or the alias he’d created for it.
The court heard that while the name attributed to the profile did match the defendant’s the photo did not.
Henry Hills, defending, told the court his client had been “quite open” about his conduct when the unannounced police visit took place.
He described his client as “vulnerable,” adding that “he has problems.”
Mr Hills said: “In my submission, he has not sought to minimise his behaviour.
“He has cerebral palsy and has to contend with mobility problems.
“There’s no evidence he has engaged in any further sexual offending behaviour.”
Judge Timothy Petts said the defendant’s position was aggravated by his previous offences of a similar nature.
He handed down eight months custody for the SHPO breach, with a concurrent six months for the notification offence.
But the Judge also activated six months of the breached suspended sentence to run consecutive – making a total of 14 months to be served immediately.
If you or anyone you know have been affected by the people highlighted in this article, then please report those individuals to the Police on 111 (999 if an emergency) or visit their online resources for further details of the options for reporting a crime. You can also make a report at Crimestoppers should you wish to be completely anonymous. There is help available on our support links page.