Bolton: Sex offender failed to report disposing of phones

Raymond Jarrett, 48, was first hit with a sexual harm prevention order in 2019 after having made hundreds of indecent images of children.

But he was brought back to court after he was discovered to have been disposing of mobile phones, including an iPhone 7 and Samsung Galaxy, without telling his responsible officer.

Megan Horner, prosecuting, said: “He said that the iPhone 7 from January 2021 had been dropped down the toilet and disposed of.”

She added: “He also told officers that the original iPhone had been sent to a recycling company rather than simply disposed of.”

The case was heard at Bolton Crown Court (Image: Newsquest)

But Ms Horner said that he had not been able to produce emails proving this.

She said that he had also claimed that one of the phones had been stolen but police had apparently not been able to verify this.

Jarrett, of Gloucester Court, Horwich, was first convicted of three counts of making indecent photos of children in November 2019 and was given a two year community order as well as being subject to a sexual harm prevention order.

But he was then further convicted of another three counts of downloading indecent images of children in July 2022 and given a fresh sexual harm prevention order and a two year prison sentence, suspended for two years.

His order forbade him from getting rid of devices with access to the internet, like mobile phones, without making sure his responsible officer was aware.

Jarrett also failed to them when he registered a fourth mobile phone, after the previous three had been disposed of.

Ms Horner told the court that Jarrett, who has three previous convictions for 12 offences, had also breached his suspended sentence by missing two appointments with probation.

She said this showed a “clear history of disobedience with order courts, particularly this court order.”

Constance Halliwell, defending, accepted that this could be seen as a “persistent breach” but said that Jarrett was deeply sorry for his actions and had earned credit by pleading guilty.

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She said that Jarrett now accepted he “should have read the order more carefully.”

Ms Halliwell said that the 48-year-old had been through and “extremely difficult few years” but now intended to stay sober having struggled with alcohol.

But the Honorary Recorder for Bolton Judge Martin Walsh pointed to a report by probation which claimed the risk Jarrett posed was “unmanageable.”

He said: “There’s been a history here not only failure to comply with the suspended sentence and work with probation officers but also in terms of offending again.”

Judge Walsh sentenced Jarrett to a total of two years in prison.