Locations
Dyffryn Y Coed, Church Village, CF38
Description
Malcolm Crane was also found to have moved address without telling police.
A convicted paedophile was caught with two mobile phones despite being banned from owning the devices.
Malcolm Crane had been convicted at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court in May 2019 for offences of attempting to incite a child under the age of 13 to engage in a sexual act and attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child.
As part of his sentence he received a sexual harm prevention order for 10 years and was advised of notification requirements which included telling police of any change in address.
He had last registered his details on January 4, 2021, and had been due to return to do the same a year later but he didn't do so despite a reminder.
Police attended his home and there was no answer at the door and no subsequent contact. On January 13, 2022, police attended his partner's address in Port Tennant and found the 50-year-old there. They arrested him and also found him to have two phones in his possession with access to the internet, which was another breach of the order.
Upon police interview he claimed to have been unaware of the annual notification requirement despite having done so in the past. He said he believed the order came to an end at the end of his probation period.
Crane, of Dyffryn y Coed, Church Village, Pontypridd, appeared at Swansea Crown Court for sentencing having admitted breaching the conditions of a sexual harm prevention order and two counts of failing to comply with notification requirements.
Mark Davies, mitigating, said: "He understands he chose not to report and chose to purchase the mobile phone. There is mitigation that thankfully the phone was not used to commit offences."
Judge Paul Thomas sentenced Crane to 20 weeks in prison.