MAN ESCAPES JAIL AFTER BREACHING COURT ORDERS
Update 03/04/2026: Two "dangerous" men involved in the rape of a baby of "extreme" youth have been jailed for life.Ethan Towers, 27, of St Ives, Cambridgeshire, raped the baby five times last summer, while John Watson, 28, of Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, encouraged him to abuse the child.
Towers was jailed for a minimum of 12 years and five months and Watson was given 13 years and four months after both admitted multiple offences.
At Cambridge Crown Court on Wednesday, Judge Mark Bishop said the "youth of the baby was extreme", adding that he was "satisfied" that both men were "dangerous and a risk to the public".
The court heard Towers sent indecent images of children to Watson.
Bishop read a victim statement from the baby's mother who said she felt "more isolated and fearful than ever".
Watson sent and received explicit images with another child aged under 16, who both men contacted on social media.
In another victim impact statement from the child, read out by the judge, they said they felt "set free" following their convictions.
Watson had a sexual harm prevention order for previous convictions of making indecent images of children.
At a previous hearing, Towers pleaded guilty to five counts of rape, including various offences involving indecent images of children.
Watson admitted two counts of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, as well as various offences involving indecent images of children and of engaging in sexual communication with a child.
Cambridgeshire Police said it had referred the case to authorities responsible for safeguarding.
Bishop handed both individuals restraining orders and they were ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £228.
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In a case that highlights ongoing concerns about compliance among convicted sex offenders, John Watson, a 21-year-old resident of Halling, narrowly avoided imprisonment after repeatedly breaching court-imposed restrictions and notification requirements.
Watson was initially convicted of possessing child sex abuse images and received a nine-month suspended prison sentence in January 2017.
Alongside this, a sexual harm prevention order was issued, and he was mandated to register as a sex offender for a decade.
Despite these strict conditions, Watson’s actions demonstrated a troubling pattern of non-compliance.
On Friday, Maidstone Crown Court heard that Watson had violated these orders on at least two significant occasions.
The first involved his use of an alias to create a fake Facebook account, an act that led to a suspended sentence in March of the previous year.
This attempt to conceal his identity and online activity was viewed by the court as a deliberate breach.
Within just two months of this incident, Watson failed to fulfill his annual obligation to sign the sex offenders’ register.
Although he had moved from Kent to Dorset in March 2017, he returned to Kent after losing his job when his employer discovered his criminal history.
By May of the following year, Watson had not informed police that he was living with his partner of four years and her mother in Halling, near Rochester.
Prosecutor Ian Foinette pointed out that Watson’s failure to notify authorities was not merely a minor oversight.
He noted that although the missed notification was only eight days late, the pattern of breaches suggested a more concerning attitude.
Foinette emphasised that Watson’s actions, such as setting up the fake Facebook account and failing to update his address, appeared to be deliberate efforts to evade detection and compliance.
During the hearing, Judge Julian Smith acknowledged Watson’s casual attitude towards his obligations but expressed a willingness to give him one final chance.
Watson was fined £400 and ordered to complete 120 hours of unpaid community service.
The judge warned him that continued breaches could lead to the activation of his suspended sentence and potential imprisonment.
“You have not paid enough attention to this,” Judge Smith stated.
“If you comply, you will be left alone and allowed to get on with your life.
You will be given a chance.
It’s a second breach and it’s significant, but the first was more serious as it showed planning.
My concern is that you have done the same thing again.
If I thought this was a deliberate circumvention, I would have no hesitation in activating your suspended sentence and you would have gone inside.” Watson’s employment history includes work at The Boathouse in Yalding, but he is currently employed as a chef at the Dockside shopping centre in Chatham.
The case underscores the ongoing challenges faced by authorities in monitoring and enforcing compliance among sex offenders, especially those who attempt to evade their legal obligations through deception and concealment.
