Niall Griffiths 31

Description

Sex offender Niall Griffiths breached a court order - by using an app which does not track internet searches. The 31-year-old used the DuckDuckGo app which allows devices to not retain internet history.

And he also breached a community order by missing unpaid work appointments. Now Griffiths has been ordered to carry out a further 30 hours unpaid work and been hit with a £479 court bill at North Staffordshire Justice Centre.

Griffiths was handed the Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) in 2016 after admitting two offences of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity. But he breached the order on December 1, 2021 by using DuckDuckGo.

Prosecutor Suzanne Swindail said: "The police attended the defendant's address to conduct a routine visit. They checked his mobile phone. It was suspected an app, Bumble, had been deleted. A further download showed Kik had been deleted and Bumble had been deleted, placing him in breach of the SHPO. It also showed he had accessed DuckDuckGo which allows the phone not to retain internet history, placing him in breach."

Griffiths, of Anchor Road, Longton, pleaded guilty to failing to comply with the requirements of a community order and breaching the SHPO.

Mark Harrison, mitigating, said the SHPO breach was two years old. He said the probation service was anxious to continue to work with Griffiths.

He added: "He is anxious to cooperate with the probation service."

Magistrates fined Griffiths £200 and also ordered him to pay £185 prosecution costs, £60 costs to the probation service, and a £34 surcharge.