Jail for Mansfield sex offender who lied to girlfriend about abuse conviction

Daniel Anthony failed to notify the police that he was staying with the woman and her two young children in breach of a sexual harm prevention order, said prosecutor Dawn Pritchard.

Nottingham Crown Court heard that Anthony, now aged 26, was jailed in December 2020 after pleading guilty to a number of sex offences against a 14-year-old girl.

“His girlfriend received an anonymous tip-off that he was a sex offender in February,” said Ms Pritchard. “He was going to tell her about the register but thought it would scare her off.

"It's clearly a deliberate breach. I understand they are no longer in a relationship.”

The court heard the probation service says his risk is too great to be managed in the community.

Katrina Wilson, mitigating, said Anthony, who may have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), deserved credit for his guilty plea “following a rather frank interview with the police which in some ways aggravated his position.”

“If there is a way of avoiding an immediate term he would welcome any order to rehabilitate him in the community,” Ms Wilson added.

She said no one knows how he will respond to an accredited programme for sex offenders as one wasn’t offered to him in 2020 because of insufficient resources.

Anthony, of Butler Crescent, Mansfield, admitted breaching the sexual harm prevention order at a previous hearing.

On Thursday, Judge Steven Coupland told him he was subject to court orders “fundamental to make sure he doesn’t reoffend.”

“You understood what they meant,” he said. “You formed a relationship with a lady who has two young children without telling those you should have told.

“You dodged monitoring provisions to protect those children. You lied to her about the precise details of your conviction. And you lied to probation about the fact you had started a new relationship.

“Your behaviour is aggravated because you have already been recalled once for failing to disclose you had been in contact with others over the internt.”

He sentenced Anthony to eight months in prison. The sexual harm prevention order and notification requirements will continue as before.