WALNEY SEX OFFENDER BACK BEHIND BARS FOR BREACHING REGISTER
A CHILD rapist who was jailed for 22 years is back behind bars after breaching the terms of the Sex Offenders’ Register.John Peter Hallam, then 65 and living on Black Butts Lane on Walney, was imprisoned in 2014 for the rape and indecent assault of a girl under 16 in Buckinghamshire between 1979 and 1984.
Now aged 76, Hallam has been jailed again after he failed to comply with the notification requirements of the Sex Offenders’ Register.
He appeared at South Cumbria Magistrates' Court on July 25 and admitted the offence.
The offence took place between July 12 and July 24 this year in Barrow, where Hallam failed without reasonable excuse to notify police of a change of address and failed to complete the required weekly no-fixed-abode registrations.
Magistrates said the offence is ‘so serious’ that only a custodial sentence can be justified and jailed him for 12 weeks.
They noted that it was ‘not a minor breach’ due to the duration and Hallam was ‘aware of his responsibilities but it fell just short of deliberate’.
He was previously convicted at Aylesbury Crown Court in 2014 of five counts of rape and three counts of indecent assault relating to a girl under the age of 16.
The victim initially reported the abuse in 1984 but withdrew her complaint after Hallam put her under pressure.
She later re-contacted Thames Valley Police in May 2012, leading to his re-investigation and conviction.
Investigator Rebecca Spaull from the Child Abuse Investigation Unit stated that ‘The sexual abuse that this victim suffered as a young girl has had a significant impact on her adult life.
She has been incredibly brave in reporting these offences and giving evidence in court.
The victim showed tremendous courage and the sentence aims to bring closure.
Thames Valley Police and the Crown Prosecution Service provided justice after 30 years.’ A police spokesperson added that ‘John Hallam, aged 76, of no fixed address, appeared at South Cumbria Magistrates' Court on 25 July 2025 and was convicted for failing to comply with notification requirements, as per the Sexual Offences Act 2003.
The conviction follows Hallam changing his address and failing to notify police within three days – a requirement as a registered sex offender.’
