A sex offender who was jailed for grooming teenage girls was caught hiding in the bathroom of a Stoke-on-Trent home.
Liam Proudman, 24, was sentenced to three years in a young offenders institution in 2018 for having sexual online chats with the three victims.
As a result, he has to abide conditions of a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO). But Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court heard police received information that he was staying at an address in Tunstall where a child lives.
Despite the protests of a woman to stop police entering the property, Proudman was found in the bathroom. Now the defendant, of Yarnbrook Grove, Norton, has been jailed for 20 months.
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Prosecuting, Graeme Simpson, said: “On Sunday, March 5 of this year at an address in Tunstall, officers arrived in the afternoon after hearing the defendant was living there with a woman and her young son.
“Despite a protest, police officers searched the property and found Proudman trying to hide. He told officers he was only there to collect his items and he was not living there. He then admitted to officers that he was there overnight.”
Proudman pleaded guilty to one count of breach of SHPO and one count of failing to comply with the notification requirement of the Sex Offenders Register. The court heard he has two previous breaches on his record.
Stuart Muldoon, mitigating, said: “He accepts the relevant previous conviction order and he has been remanded since March 6 of this year. He lost his mother at a young age and in custody he has taken advantage of bereavement counselling. This has enabled him to open up.
“He said he is going to fully comply with any order he is given. He is still 24 years old and he has not yet reached full maturity yet. He is aware of the impact of the causes of his actions.”
Judge David Fletcher told Proudman: “You are 24 years old and you are no stranger to the criminal justice system and you are no stranger to these types of events. You do not like to be told how to live your life.
“I do not consider you to be able to have a suspended sentence. You continue to present a risk to the public. If in the future you commit any further offences, I am afraid you will have longer and longer prison sentences.”
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