James Farquhar 65

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A convicted rapist who twice went on foreign holidays including to the Philippines without telling the police was put back behind bars today.

James Farquhar, who served 12 years in prison for repeatedly raping a teenage girl, was required to tell the police if he applied for a passport or went abroad under the terms of the Sex Offenders Register.

But Liverpool Crown Court heard that he applied for a passport in November 2019, and the following March he flew to the Philippines for a months holiday.

Derek Jones, prosecuting, said Farquhar's offender manager was told about the jaunt on his return and enquiries began into his passport acquisition.

However Farquhar was not interviewed by Merseyside Police until November 2020 - by which time he had also spent a week on the Greek island of Cos a few weeks earlier.

Mr Jones said that if the police had had any particular concerns about what he had been doing in the Philippines he would have been arrested sooner.

Judge Garrett Byrne, sentencing, today told 62-year-old Farquhar: This was flagrant disregard of the notification requirements which are designed to manage the risk you pose to the community."

Judge Byrne said that in interview Farquhar had feigned ignorance of the requirements but had in fact travelled in full knowledge that he was breaking the rules.

Farquhar, of Ford Lane, Litherland, but formerly of Southport, pleaded guilty to three offences of breaching the Sex Offender Register requirements and was jailed for nine months.

He was jailed at Liverpool Crown Court in 2005 for 15 years for five offences of rape, involving a girl aged between 16 and 20, and was ordered to sign the Register indefinitely. The jail term was reduced on appeal to 12 years.

He received a suspended prison sentence in February 2018 for battery of his ex-partner and staying at her home for longer than seven days without notifying the police.

Matthew ONeill, defending, said that Farquhar told the police he was not aware he should have notified them about obtaining a passport and going abroad on holiday. He signs the Register annually but had not been aware of those particular conditions.

He told the court: It was not deliberate. It was due to a mistaken belief that he did not need to notify the authorities.

Mr O'Neill said his client is in ill health and due for open heart surgery in five months time.

He added Farquhar has been in custody for a month after pleading guilty to the offences, which has been challenging because of the pandemic, and he urged the judge to suspend any prison sentence.