Locations
Water Mint Way, Calne, Wiltshire SN11
Description
A registered sex offender has been jailed for breaching a court order by trying to work with vulnerable teenagers.
Bruce Thomas Wayne, 33, had started to volunteer at a local community charity, despite police putting a ban on such activity.
Wayne was caught when a someone recognised him from a news story about his previous conviction.
Wiltshire Police described him as "a calculating and predatory offender".
Wayne, of Watermint Way, Calne, was sentenced to three years and seven months in prison at Swindon Crown Court.
Police said a conviction in 2010 paired with more recent concerns relating to his behaviour led them to impose a standalone sexual harm prevention order on him in October 2020.
Wayne, formerly known as Andrew Phillips, was not allowed to take on voluntary or paid work without informing his probation worker or become involved with any form of support group for children or adults.
News story
However, he was found to be volunteering with a charity which provided support for people aged 14 to 70.
Wiltshire Police praised the "responsible" actions of the Calne-based organisation, which did not allow Wayne to work unsupervised until a criminal background check had been completed.
The charity alerted Wiltshire Police after reading a news story about his previous conviction.
PC Sarah Greenman said: "Wayne tried to claim that he had misunderstood the terms of his order, but the judge rejected this claim, finding that what he was actually doing was trying to gain access to vulnerable teenagers.
"Registered sex offenders are subject to regular monitoring by the police and I hope this case provides reassurance that if and when they try to breach any restrictions that are in place, then they are dealt with robustly by the police and the courts."