LUKE BOWEN

POWYS SEX OFFENDER SPARED PRISON AFTER BREACHING ORDERS

A convicted sex offender will avoid returning to prison after breaching the terms of his sentence.

Luke Bowen appeared at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court on December 3 after admitting to breaching a sexual harm prevention order and failing to comply with notification requirements as part of his registration on the sex offenders register, related to his imprisonment in January 2018.

The court was informed that on January 11, 2023, Bowen possessed a mobile phone with internet access but did not inform his supervisors, which violated his order.

Additionally, he stayed at a different address from his registered home address for more than seven days between August 2022 and Christmas 2022 without notifying police authorities.

Judge Jeremy Jenkins noted Bowen, who is 34 and from Raveloe, Llanwrthwl, had previously been jailed for six and a half years in 2018 and was released in May 2021 but was recalled after admitting the breaches in January 2023.

He was then in prison until November of this year, with charges for these breaches brought in September.

The judge acknowledged that Bowen had not used his mobile phone for malicious purposes and recognized that he had been recalled to prison for 20 months.

Despite the breaches, Bowen was given a 12-month community order, required to complete 80 hours of unpaid work and 15 days of rehabilitation.

He was also ordered to pay £150 court costs and a court charge.

The judge highlighted Bowen's improved behavior and employment since last month, stating, "Your new employment and life outside custody should be encouraged," but also noted Bowen's intelligence and awareness of his breaches.