JOSHUA EVANS BUSTED IN DONCASTER AND ROTHERHAM FOR SEXUAL RISK ORDER VIOLATIONS

In a series of troubling incidents, Joshua Evans, a 20-year-old man with connections to Doncaster and Rotherham, has been sentenced to prison for repeatedly breaching a sexual risk order (SRO) issued against him by South Yorkshire Police. The court heard how Evans’s violations included an alarming encounter with a young girl in Doncaster and subsequent violations involving underage individuals in Rotherham, raising serious concerns about his compliance with legal restrictions designed to protect minors.

The initial SRO was imposed on Evans on November 10, 2017, by Sheffield Crown Court, following a directive from Chief Constable Stephen Watson. The order was meant to restrict Evans’s contact with children under the age of 16, including prohibiting unsupervised interactions and mandating that he report any change of address to the police. Despite these strict conditions, Evans breached the order just 12 days after it was put into effect.

The breach occurred when Evans approached a 13-year-old girl as she was walking past his residence in Doncaster on her way to school. According to prosecutor James Baird, the girl recounted how Evans was only wearing his underwear and had a loom band around his neck at the time of the incident. He asked her for her name, and after she responded, he took her hand and implored her, saying, “It’s nice to meet you, will you come inside my house, please, please.”

The young girl responded with swearing, calling Evans a ‘paedophile,’ and quickly left the scene. The incident was reported to the police, who traced Evans to his address. A victim personal statement, read aloud in court by the girl’s mother, detailed how the encounter left her daughter feeling shaken and frightened, to the extent that she was too scared to take her usual route to school.

Further violations came to light in May of the following year. A social worker visiting Evans’s new residence in Rotherham discovered he was living with a 15-year-old boy and other minors. The social worker contacted the police, and during questioning, Evans claimed he believed the boy was 17. It was only during a trip to Tesco that the boy revealed he was actually 15, leading to Evans’s arrest. This breach was particularly serious, as it involved living with minors despite the restrictions of the SRO.

In addition to these incidents, Evans had previously been convicted of another breach in January 2018 for failing to inform police of a change of address. He received a six-week suspended prison sentence for that offence. However, he was found to be in breach of this suspended sentence when he committed the May 2018 violation.

Evans ultimately pleaded guilty to all breaches during an earlier court hearing. His defense attorney, Edward Moss, highlighted that Evans had suffered catastrophic brain injuries at the age of 11 following a road accident, injuries that require lifelong medical treatment. Despite these mitigating circumstances, the court emphasized the seriousness of his repeated violations and the risk posed to vulnerable minors.

In light of his actions, Evans was sentenced to a period of imprisonment, underscoring the ongoing efforts of law enforcement and judicial authorities to protect children from individuals who breach protective orders and pose a sexual risk to the community.