Robert Hicks 69

Description

Convicted sex offender Robert Hicks is back behind bars - after sending a photo of scantily-clad girl to a hotel worker. The 67-year-old RAF veteran - who has 67 convictions for 100 offences - was staying at the Plough Motel on Campbell Road, Stoke, when he sent the picture of a teenager dressed in 'scanty white clothing' to a woman who worked there.

Alarmed by the WhatsApp message, staff reported the matter to the police. But when officers arrived at the motel, Hicks had changed the locks to the room. Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court heard entry was forced and a search revealed a laptop had been hidden in the coffee table.

Now Hicks, of Campbell Road, Stoke, has been jailed for 16 months after pleading guilty to three breaches of his life-long Sexual Harm Prevention Order. The court heard the pervert has a number of sexual offences on his record including possessing indecent images of children.

Prosecutor Jonathan Dickinson said: "He is a registered sex offender. His first conviction was in 2004. He was also convicted in 2005, 2007, 2009, 2013, 2015 and 2018. He is subject to a notification requirement for life, since 2015.

"The chain of events leading to this remand in custody began on February 20 this year. He was a resident at the Plough Motel. He had been in contact with a female employee there. They had exchanged messages via WhatsApp.

"The employee received what she thought was an inappropriate image from the defendant. The image was a female aged around 16 or 17 dressed in white scanty clothing. The people at the motel contacted the police and reported the incident. This led to the police arresting the defendant on February 21. Police discovered an extra SIM card which had been in hidden in a pencil holder."

The court heard the landlord at the motel also sought to remove him but the lock on the door had been changed, and the master key couldn't open it, resulting in the door having to be forced. Upon removing the defendant's furniture, a workman realised there was something inside the coffee table and a Lenovo tablet device was discovered.

Mr Dickinson added: "When interviewed, he said he had forgotten about the SIM card. He said it would have been an old one that was deactivated. He was asked about WhatsApp, and agreed it was him, but declined to give any explanation. He said he had the tablet for three years. He claimed he didn't use it very much and had forgotten it was in the table at his room."

The court heard that when Hicks was asked to provide the pin for the device, he gave three incorrect ones. Police have never been able to access it.

Barry White, mitigating, said: "He comes from a very troubled childhood. He suffered abuse from a young age. He became a hospital DJ at 17 and a presenter there. In 1987 he received an award for presenter of the year.

"He served for 12 years in the RAF. He nursed his wife of 50 years who was terminally ill. She passed away in 2002. He says he went mad and everything fell apart from there."

The lawyer said his client also wanted the court to know he had a "good side" as he had spent time at numerous charities, including helping the Ukraine efforts, offering his van to deliver prescriptions in the pandemic, and making Christmas hampers.

Jailing the defendant, Judge David Fletcher told Hicks: "You are now 67 years of age. You have been before courts since the 2000s. Until 2003 when you were about 45 you had never been in any trouble. Now you have been an offender since that time.

"There are two separate incidents relating to a SIM card and laptop. In my experience sitting here for many years, it's very rare people get away with that. It's clear to me it was in that place because it's a good place to hide an item such as that. It's a sad state of affairs but there's little other than custodial sentence. You remain the subject of the order, which will be there for as long as you are."