A SEXUAL predator from Ulverston is back behind bars after flouting a court order just days after being released from prison.
Gerard Philip Wilson, 64, was given a six-year jail term in 2017 for a raft of online child sex crimes which emerged after he contacted an undercover police officer he believed was a youngster.
When sentenced by a judge, Wilson – who also admitted making and distributing indecent images of children – was ordered to sign the sex offenders’ register indefinitely and made subject to the strict terms of a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO).
This banned him from having any internet-capable electronic device which was not fitted with police-approved monitoring software.
But yesterday (FRI), just a week after his release from prison on licence, Wilson found himself back in hot water. Police offender managers went to his bail hostel in Carlisle and were informed Wilson had bought a laptop from a Currys PC World store. In his room, officers found that laptop and also a large flat-screen smart television, both capable of online connection but neither fitted with monitoring software.
When he appeared at North and West Cumbria Magistrates’ Court in Carlisle earlier today (SAT), Wilson admitted two SHPO breaches.
Sara Budniak, defending, said of that wrongdoing: “He states he didn’t fully understand how much that would impact on him; that he would potentially end up in this situation this morning.
“He understands he is looking, potentially, at another custodial sentence.”
Magistrates sent the case to the city’s crown court, where Wilson, previously of Urswick Road, Ulverston, is due to be sentenced by a judge next month. In the meantime he was remanded in custody.
After he was sentenced in 2017, a Cumbria police detective said: “Wilson is a predator who used numerous online chatrooms and social media apps to engage, groom and sexually assault children.
“I’d like to praise the bravery of the victims in this case as they have helped us in bringing Wilson to justice.”
