Sex offender caught walking girl, nine, to school

Youth broke terms of order, court hears

A MALE sex offender was caught walking a nine-year-old girl to school, Newbury magistrates heard.

The 17-year-old, who lives in the Newbury area but cannot be identified for legal reasons, was also associating with a young boy, in contravention of a Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO), the youth court sitting on Thursday, May 27, heard.

The order was imposed in February this year after the youth was convicted of having penetrative sex with a child aged under 13 years, the court heard.

Felicity Lineham, prosecuting, said that, under the terms of the SOPO, the defendant was forbidden from having unsupervised contact with chilren under 16 years or from being in the company of a female aged under 16 years.

She said the breaches of the order came to light after a girl aged 14 was reported as a missing person to police. Ms Lineham said the girl returned home and admitted she had arranged to see the defendant.

The breaches involving the young boy and the girl aged nine then came to light, the court heard.

Magistrates were told the youth, who has a “proven history of offending”, had walked her to school and taken her out on another occasion.

The youth admitted committing two breaches of the SOPO earlier this year. Ben May, defending, said his client had not fully understood the terms of the order.

However, a member of West Berkshire Council’s Youth Offending Team told the court: “He was taken fully through the conditions by a team worker and by the police.”

Magistrates fined the 17-year-old £100 and ordered him to pay a statutory surcharge of £15. They further ordered that the SOPO should continue on the same terms as before.