Kris Hatton 34

Description

A man with a history of child pornography offenses was caught breaching his sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) after his offender manager spotted "children's clothing and nappies" at his home.

Kris Hatton, 34, first received an SHPO in 2021 following a police raid that uncovered a collection of child rape images.

At Liverpool Crown Court on Wednesday, March 4, Hatton admitted violating the order, which prohibited deleting online history from internet-capable devices or using encryption software to hide activity.

Prosecutor Georgiana Pantelli said:

"On November 11, 2024, two officers met with the defendant at Walton Lane police station because his offender manager had raised concerns about children's clothing and nappies found at his address.

"He was asked to produce his phone. One officer immediately noted a VPN (virtual private network) had been downloaded to his device, along with the Opera browser, which has a VPN and private mode built-in. Incognito mode may have also been used on Google Chrome."

A VPN creates an encrypted link between a device and the internet, masking its IP address and activity. Incognito mode allows private browsing without saving history, cookies, site data, or form information.

Ms Pantelli added that Hatton downloaded the Opera browser in September 2024 and the VPN in November, days before detection. His Motorola phone showed 4,839 deletions of internet history, including porn sites and online chats.

Hatton, of Rice Lane in Fazakerley, had a 2014 police caution for four charges of possessing indecent images of children.

In June 2020, officers found 765 files on his devices, including a baby being molested: 143 category A, 180 category B, and 442 category C images, plus one extreme porn file and four prohibited child images. He avoided prison but received a five-year SHPO and Sex Offenders Register requirement.

In 2023, another iPhone check revealed 137 category C, 28 category B, and 33 category A images of girls aged 6-10. He was jailed for 30 months and given an indefinite SHPO.

Defense counsel Callum Ross said:

"He had pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity, which is the strongest point of mitigation in this case. This offending is of some age, being from 2024. It seems there have been no further breaches since this breach.

"Hatton has a learning disability and low cognitive function, and childhood experiences left him with poor problem solving skills. He's still a relatively young man being 34, and he has not received any assistance from probation since 2021, but has served an immediate custodial sentence since then."

Recorder Alexander Leach KC sentenced Hatton to 16 months in prison, stating:

"While it's correct there was no direct evidence of any serious harm in this case, I'm aware you accessed a chat facility and records were deleted, therefore increasing the risk of further sexual offending."