Description
A registered sex offender who actively sought out child abuse images and repeatedly breached his Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) has been jailed for three years.
David Potts repeatedly breached his SHPO between 2024 and 2026 – despite there being stringent conditions which he had to abide by.
Our Paedophile Online Investigation Team (POLIT) arrested the 71-year-old with DC Dave Riley, DC Dave Philipson and DC Dave Medd leading the investigation.
The team seized his devices where it was found he used VPNs to hide his IP address whilst browsing online and used tools to hide his internet history.
Other evidence uncovered that Potts had actively sought out child abuse images and had made real efforts to make copies of indecent images of children on his devices.
Potts was also found to have accessed indecent images of children online between January 2025 and August 2025. Of these, five were category C images, 11 were category B images and six were of the most serious category A.
The SHPOs were put in place after Potts was previously convicted of online sexual offences against children dating back to 2020.
Potts from Stockton was charged with three counts of making indecent images of children, one count of attempting to possess indecent images of children, seven breaches of his SHPO and one count of failing to comply with notification requirements.
He pleaded guilty to all the offences and appeared at Teesside Crown Court on Thursday 2 July where he was jailed for three years. He will continue to be subject to a SHPO and Sex Offender Notification Requirements when he is released.
Detective Constable David Philipson from POLIT said:
“Potts is a prolific online offender with a clear continuing sexual interest in children. We welcome the sentence imposed by the courts due to the serious harm that individuals like Potts pose to the public.
“Cleveland Police’s POLIT is committed to robust and swift action against individuals like Potts who offend against children online. We will continue to pursue these individuals and we remain determined to make Cleveland a safer place for children.”