A registered sex offender who failed to disclose that he had bought a new laptop and was using the name of a female alter-ego in a Messenger chat has been given a suspended jail term.
Darryl Saunders, 33, of Springfort Cottages, Newton Reigny, near Penrith, was originally sentenced by a judge at Carlisle Crown Court in 2019.
Saunders had been snared by a police decoy as he engaged in sexual online exchanges with who he thought was a girl aged 13.
His punishment was a community order which included a requirement that he complete a sex offender treatment profile. Other orders with conditions were also imposed to restrict his online use.
But Saunders was back at the crown court today after breaching the terms of those orders.
He bought a new laptop from Carlisle Currys store. This was found by police during a home visit.
It was capable of accessing the internet, but had not been declared to officers and was not fitted with police-approved monitoring software as specified by the terms of a sexual harm prevention order.
Saunders had also breached the terms of sex offender notification requirements. When officers analysed an iPad they found Saunders had registered a Facebook Messenger account in the name of Louisa Jones.
Messages dating back to June 2022 were discovered.
Saunders admitted two breaches. Defence lawyer, Andrew Gurney, said the defendant had bought the laptop after separating from his wife, who previously handled the administration for his gardening business.
That had not been a wilful breach, said Mr Gurney, who said the use of a female alter-ego name was not linked to any criminality.
Judge Nicholas Barker suspended a 10-month prison sentence for 18 months for the latest wrongdoing. Saunders must complete a rehabilitation requirement and 150 hours’ unpaid work.
“Understand what your responsibilities are upon these orders and comply with them,” Judge Barker told Saunders. “That is your responsibility.”
