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A convicted sex offender failed to tell police of his whereabouts while living in a tent on the streets of Norwich.
Jon Hannon, 36, is required to inform police where he was living after being placed on the sex offenders register for life following a conviction in 2014.
Norwich Magistrates’ Court was told that when someone is homeless they are required to update police about their location every week.
But the whereabouts of Hannon was not been known after he failed to keep police informed while living in a tent in April this year and on a second occasion when he was evicted from a homeless hostel.
Sally Harris, prosecuting, said: “You will appreciate how important it is for an offender of this type that the police do know exactly where he is residing.”
Hannon pleaded guilty to failing to comply with notification requirements.
He also admitted breaching a 24 week suspended prison sentence imposed after he was convicted for actual bodily harm in March.
The court was told he has 10 previous convictions for 19 offences including other breaches of court orders.
Jonathan Perkins, mitigating, said on both occasions when he failed to notify police he had found himself abruptly homeless.
“Normally when a person is subject to notification orders they have annual sign-ins but when a person is homeless they are subject to a weekly notification with the police even if their tent is pitched in the same area as it was the week before,” he said.
“So we have the unfortunate situation where those with the most unstable and precarious lives, who are generally the most vulnerable, have a burden that weighs on them 52 times more heavily than those with a place they can call their own.”
Hannon was fined £240 and told to pay costs of £166.
Magistrates told him: “Regardless of it being a burden, you must report to the police whether you like it or not.”