COUNTY DURHAM SEX OFFENDER JAILED AFTER BREACHING COURT ORDER
A sex offender was warned he will find himself back behind bars if he breaches the terms of a restrictive court order again.Durham Crown Court heard that monitoring software on Jonathan Frost's phone flagged up that he was viewing indecent images of children, on March 9.
He was arrested and despite initially making no comment to police, he subsequently admitted possessing indecent images of children, putting him in breach of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) and notification requirements as a sex offender.
Frost appeared at the court via video link from the city’s adjoining prison where he has spent the last month since his arrest.
The court heard that the 42-year-old, of Corscombe Close, Ferryhill, was sentenced to 14 months in prison, suspended for 18 months, after admitting engaging in sexual communication with a child and grooming a boy under 16, at Teesside Crown Court, in September 2021.
His offences, committed over the internet, were said to date from March 2020.
As part of the 2021 sentence, Frost was made subject of the terms of a SHPO and notification requirements as a sex offender, both for ten years.
Monitoring software revealed the use of a device by Frost to view indecent images of children, on March 9 this year.
Officers visited his home and found he had used a mobile phone to access Snapchat, which he had not declared to police.
The device was seized and examined, revealing that Frost viewed two offending images or videos in category A, the most serious level for such material, plus one in category B.
He was arrested and it was put to him that just hours after the monitoring software was installed that he accessed Snapchat.
It was said he later attempted to remove it, having viewed the indecent images on the device, all of which he refused to confirm, making no comment to police questioning.
Frost admitted the three offences at his first court appearance.
The sentence imposed was an eight-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, with an order to attend 40 rehabilitation activity days with the Probation Service.
The judge emphasized that any further breaches would activate the sentence.
The court also ordered the forfeiture and destruction of the phone on which the images were found.
The case highlights the ongoing monitoring of internet activity by offenders and the importance of compliance with court orders.
—————————————————————————————————— NEW OFFENCE —————————————————————————————————— FERRYHILL SEX OFFENDER DELETED APPS FROM PHONE IN 'PANIC' A sex offender considered to pose a “high risk” of re-offending installed three ‘apps’ in breach of a court order, but, “in panic”, deleted them when police came knocking.
The Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) was put in place for ten years after Jonathan Frost was convicted of attempted sexual communication with a child and attempting to meet a child following grooming, for which he received a suspended sentence order, in September 2021.
Durham Crown Court heard that as he was believed to pose a “high risk” of re-offending, monitoring software was put on his phone to check his usage.
Kathryn Wetherley, prosecuting, said police visited Frost’s home on December 15 last year as it was believed applications had been installed on his phone of which his monitoring officers were unaware.
The applications were said to enable him to contact women and were of a sexual nature.
Frost allowed police into his home, but said he needed to use the bathroom.
When subsequently asked for his phone, it was noticed it contained no applications.
He was queried about it, and he admitted having deleted them.
Frost was cautioned and arrested, and in interview he said he understood the terms of the SHPO as he previously had Snapchat and deleted the history of that, leading to a previous breach prosecution.
The 43-year-old defendant of Corscombe Close, Ferryhill, admitted the latest four SHPO breaches.
Miss Wetherley said three related to him installing the apps Zangi, Plamfly and Buzzcast while the other was over the deletion of an image of his private parts.
She described his offending as, “very serious, persistent and deliberate breaches”.
Albany Kidd, for Frost, said the defendant was aware it would result in immediate custody.
She described him as “vulnerable” with diagnosed learning disabilities.
“He lives at home with his parents who provide support and he has a positive family network around him.” Miss Kidd conceded it was a deliberate breach of the SHPO.
“When he saw the police arriving, in a moment of panic, it was a deliberate decision to delete, but it wasn’t calculated or pre-planned.” Miss Kidd added that the apps only enabled the defendant to have conversations with adult women.
Judge Nathan Adams said these were not the defendant’s first breaches of the SHPO, as he was given "chances" for previous offences, in 2024.
The judge said it would have been made “absolutely plain” to the defendant as to the consequences of further non-compliance with the SHPO.
“You were given a further chance and, nevertheless, you are back here again in breach of the SHPO and sex offender notification requirements and the only outcome is immediate custody.
Judge Adams imposed a 12-month sentence for the latest offence and added to it eight months activated from a suspended sentence passed in June 2024, giving a total 20-month prison sentence.
He told Frost any further breaches would only result in further custodial sentences.
