James Power 44

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A Devon paedophile "learned a great deal" from his sex offender programme - then went back to searching the dark web for child abuse images.

James Power from Honiton completed the Horizon programme for sex offenders after being convicted of filming sex sessions with women and collecting more than 1,000 child images in 2021.

He was regarded as a success and even attended poetry evenings with someone who supported him through the course. But when his offender manager knocked on his door they found he had been using a phone to look at sick images and take photos of himself with his penis out at various locations.

Power, 44, of Roundball Close, has now been sentenced to two years and four months. He admitted three breaches of his Sexual Harm Prevention Order and three charges of downloading indecent images of children.

Peter Coombe, prosecuting, said his offender manager visited Power at his home in May 2024. When he answered the door he appeared "flustered".

He had hastily deleted the Kik app from his phone and said he had been "looking at something he shouldn't". It turned out he had joined a group to look at people having sex with animals.

In total, 174 indecent images of children were found on his phone, 24 in the most serious category of abuse.

Police returned in February 2025 and Power was again slow at reaching the door. He initially denied hiding a phone but then took the officer to an airing cupboard where he had stashed a device among the linen.

Analysis of the phone showed he had been accessing the internet since the start of the year and had a clear sexual interest in children. There were also photos of Power exposing himself at locations including the public toilets in King Street. He sent the images to adults online and had also been chatting on a dating site and deleting images.

Zoe Kuyken, defending, said Power had done well on the Horizon programme and learned a great deal from it. He had gone above and beyond what was expected of him which made his return to court concerning.

She said he had gone from having a great deal of support from Horizon and probation to not a lot and had "handled the transition poorly" by going back on the internet when he was alone in the evenings and off work with sciatica.

He describes himself as addicted to the material and living in a fantasy world. He looked at bestiality websites because he was seeking social contact, she said. He would like to be banned from the internet and is highly remorseful. She said if he was sent to prison he would lose his landscaping job.

Judge David Evans said Power may need more active supervision in the community in future. He will serve either 40 or 50 per cent of his sentence behind bars.

Power's SHPO was extended to 2036.