Andrew Othen 56

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A serial paedophile was given shrewd advice by a judge who told him to “read a book” instead of messaging underage girls.

Andrew Othen did not keep his bad habits at bay after he was spared jail a few years ago.

The 56-year-old has a chequered past with 25 previous convictions for child sex offences to his name.

He returned to the dock on May 1 after he breached a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) imposed on him in 2019.

Prosecuting, Rachel Standish said the “high risk” sex offender was secretly using an internet-enabled mobile phone and had eight different usernames on various applications.

She told Southampton Crown Court: “The defendant was also found to be using DuckDuckGo, a browser that offers anonymous searching and deletes browser history.

“He had spent 45 days on the messaging application Kik, where he was conversing with girls aged 13 and 14.

“The conversations were sexual, and he was bombarding them with sexual questions, asking to meet one of the girls.

“The crown say he was going to offend again.”

Gaylene Coles, defending on behalf of Othen, said he “knows what is about to happen” with a return to prison on the cards for the persistent offender.

She said: “He had a difficult upbringing and watched his mum die when he was 14.

“Thereafter he lived a lonely and isolated life.

“When he is released from prison, he finds it impossible to find work and does not know how to fill his time.”

Judge Nigel Peters KC interjected: “He can a read a book.”

Othen, of Alma Road, Southampton, previously pleaded guilty to two charges of breaching a SHPO.

“You are nearly 60 years old, and you are having to remain in prison”, judge Peters told Othen.

“These vile matters have to be investigated and continuing this behaviour while on licence and post-supervision is an aggravating feature in this case.

“You were dealing with people who you thought were vulnerable, and your only piece of mitigation is that you immediately admitted guilt.”

Othen was sentenced to 32 months in prison.