Locations
The Kingsway, Swansea, SA1
Description
A child sex offender hid his past to go on a caravanning holiday with a friend and her young son, a court has heard.
Jonathan Harris was also a regular visitor to the family's home, including on occasions sleeping there overnight. However, the 27-year-old is banned from having unsupervised contact with boys under 16 unless the child's parents know about his past conviction for causing a child to engage in sexual activity.
Swansea Crown Court that Harris' concealing of his past was the second beach of a sexual harm prevention order in less than two years - on the first occasion he had secretly installed WhatsApp on his phone and had been visiting online chat rooms with names such as "teen chat" and "squirt".
Ieuan Rees, prosecuting, said Harris befriend a woman he met in Swansea Market, and though the relationship was initially sexual it later became platonic in nature. He said the defendant was a "regular" visitor to the house where the woman lived with her child, on occasions spending the night at the address. Then in September Harris went with the woman and her child to a caravan park for a three-night break.
The court heard it was only in October that Harris told the woman about his previous conviction for child sexual offences, and about the restrictions he was under as a result. The mum reported the matter to police and the defendant was arrested at his place of work in Swansea Docks. He subsequently made full admissions in interview.
Jonathan Harris, formerly of Sageston, Tenby, Pembrokeshire, but now of The Kingsway in Swansea city centre, had previously pleaded guilty to breaching the conditions of a sexual harm prevention order when he appeared in the dock for sentencing.
In 2019 Harris was sentenced to 27 months in prison for causing a child under 16 to engage in sexual activity and causing a child under 16 to watch a sexual act, and he was placed on the sex offenders register and made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) to control his access to young boys. Just days after getting out of prison on licence for those matters he breached the SHPO by joining dating websites including Match and Elite Singles, making online searches using terms such as "teen porn", visiting online chat rooms with names including "teen chat" and "squirt", and installing the WhatsApp messaging application. In October 2020 he was jailed for what the judge described as that "flagrant breach" the order.
David Rees, for Harris, said the defendant moved to Swansea to make a fresh start after "effectively being hounded out" of Sageston by vigilantes, securing his own accommodation in the city and then finding a job. He said his client retained the support of his family, and also acknowledged the omissions which had led him to being in dock.
Judge Paul Thomas KC told Harris he had committed a "persistent and blatant" breach of SHPO, not only by being a regular visitor to the woman's house but also going on holiday with her and her young son. The judge said he accepted the defendant had eventually told the woman about his past conviction but he said it was clear Harris had not learned his lesson following his jailing for the first breach. With a one third discount for his guilty plea, Harris was sentenced to 10 months in prison. He will serve up to half that period in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community.