A St George man who breached a court order banning him from deleting his internet history has been spared immediate jail. But the 42-year-old has been told he must live with his parents as part of a penalty.
Scott Thomas, of Avening Road, pleaded guilty to four breaches of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) in September last year and January this year, as well as breaching a sexual offending reporting order. Bristol Crown Court heard he considered himself "stupid" for not sticking to the court orders.
Judge Euan Ambrose handed him 20 months' prison suspended for two years. He handed Thomas rehabilitation and unpaid work, told him to go on an accredited programme as directed by the Probation Service and live with his parents.
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Andy Pickett, prosecuting, said in March last year Thomas was convicted of possessing 14 indecent images of children. As a result he was given a two-year community order and a SHPO with conditions designed to stop reoffending.
The court heard the probation service discovered Thomas breached the SHPO by deleting internet history on his internet enabled devices. He was also found to have breached the SHPO by installing automatic cleaner software and Snapchat.
Matthew Comer, defending, said his client had attended appointments under his community order and completed unpaid work. Mr Comer said: "There is no suggestion of a contact offence. There is no suggestion he was trying to physically interact with children in an inappropriate manner."
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