A convicted sex offender from Bath has been sentenced to 18 weeks in prison, suspended for a year, for breaching court orders.
Sidney Brierley, of Jesse Hughes Court at Lower Swainswick, had been convicted at Bristol Crown Court in January 2015 of offences relating to indecent images of children and received a suspended prison sentence.
The jobless 36-year-old appeared before Bath magistrates last month charged with breaching a Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO).
He admitted that on 28th February 2024 he had failed to produce 39 internet-enabled devices and digital storage.
He also admitted that on 27th February 2024, as a registered sex offender, he had failed to comply with notification requirements by not registering 15 bank cards.
There was nothing to indicate that any of the devices contained images of children.
Both the SOPO and Brierley’s inclusion on the Sex Offender Register were in place in February 2024. His placement on the register has now expired, but the SOPO remains “indefinite”. He must apply to get it lifted.
At his appearance last month, the solicitor representing Brierley said he had purchased the devices to repair and resell, and the reason for the numerous bank cards in his name was that he used them to create free subscriptions to platforms.
Brierley had been remanded on unconditional bail until Monday 24th November for a pre-sentence report to be prepared.
The court heard that Brierley had previously breached the SOPO, being given a community order which included unpaid work in 2021.
Sentencing him, magistrates highlighted Brierley’s “flagrant disregard” for court orders, the nature and seriousness of the offences, the deliberate breaches and his previous convictions.
For the latest SOPO breach, he received an 18-week sentence suspended for 12 months. For failing to comply with notification requirements, he was given an eight-week sentence, again suspended for a year. The two sentences will run concurrently.
Brierley was also ordered to do 80 hours’ unpaid work under the supervision of the Probation Service and pay prosecution costs of £85 and a victim surcharge of £154.
