STEVEN CLEMENTS FROM EXETER AND WILLASTON JAILED IN PLEA FOR PROTECTION AND JUSTICE

In a series of disturbing incidents spanning over a decade, Steven Clements, a known sex offender with ties to Exeter, Willaston, and Pembroke Dock, has been repeatedly involved in criminal activities that have shocked local communities and law enforcement alike.

Back in October 2018, Clements was at the center of a case that highlighted his ongoing struggle with compliance to legal restrictions. Previously convicted in 2000 for six counts of indecent assault on young boys aged nine, 10, and 13, Clements was placed on the sex offenders' register and subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO). Despite these measures, authorities discovered that he had failed to notify police of his whereabouts after March of that year, when he last registered as living in Plymouth.

Police efforts to locate him proved challenging, as when officers from Devon and Cornwall Police visited his last known address in Plymouth, they were informed he had recently left. The last contact police had with Clements was on March 15, when he registered as being of 'no fixed abode.' Subsequently, he vanished from the authorities' radar, failing to update his address as legally required.

His criminal activity resurfaced in September when he was arrested in Pembroke Dock for shoplifting a laptop from Tesco. Initially giving a false name, fingerprint checks revealed his true identity as Steven Clements. He pleaded guilty to theft and to failing to comply with his notification obligations. The court noted that Clements had a lengthy criminal record, including 15 previous convictions for 32 offences, eight of which were sexual offences, along with four breaches of his sexual offences prevention order.

One of these breaches involved contact with children aged seven and 13. Clements inadvertently left a 14-minute voicemail message on a police officer’s phone while with the children, which recorded his meeting with them. This breach led to his sentencing at Liverpool Crown Court, where Judge Keith Thomas sentenced him to 20 months in prison for breaching the SHPO, along with an additional two months for theft. The court revoked his previous order and imposed a new SHPO, this time extending it to ten years.

In a related case from February 2016, Clements was caught attempting to intimidate a rape victim’s family to influence their testimony. Living at a bail hostel in Camborne, Cornwall, after his release from prison, he was recorded on CCTV making a threatening phone call outside a supermarket. The call was traced back to him, and police confirmed he had contacted the mother of a rape complainant, claiming he knew where her family lived and warning of consequences if she testified.

His criminal history dates back to 2000, when he was jailed for 21 months for abusing young boys he met through his role as a basketball coach. At the time of the recent threats, he was residing at East Hill, Camborne, and had previously lived at Smythen Street, Exeter. His attempt to intimidate the witness resulted in a 12-month prison sentence, with Judge Erik Salomonsen emphasizing the severity of his actions and the importance of safeguarding the integrity of the justice system.

Further back, in May 2007, Clements was again in the spotlight when a court issued a sexual offences prevention order to prevent him from approaching children. This followed his earlier 2000 conviction for abusing four boys, whom he befriended through his coaching activities. The court heard that Clements had indecently assaulted boys aged nine to 14, including an incident where he assaulted a sleeping nine-year-old and another where he told an 11-year-old not to tell his parents.

Judge Nick Sanders, presiding over the case, banned Clements from being near any children under 17, citing the trust placed in him by families and the lack of remorse he showed. The order was intended to last until further notice, with severe penalties for any breach, including potential imprisonment for up to five years.

Throughout these incidents, Clements has demonstrated a pattern of violating legal restrictions and engaging in criminal conduct, prompting ongoing concern from law enforcement and the communities of Exeter, Willaston, Pembroke Dock, and beyond. His case underscores the persistent challenges in monitoring and managing convicted sex offenders to protect the public from further harm.