Kettering child sex offender breached order by using Snapchat and Instagram without telling police

A convicted child sex offender has been given a suspended sentence after breaching a court order by using social media sites without notifying the police.

Christopher Graham, of Wellington Street in Kettering, was placed on the register for sex offenders in 2017 at Northampton Crown Court after he was convicted of sexual activity with a child.

It meant police could keep tabs on his whereabouts and he was also made the subject of a five-year sexual harm prevention order - designed to monitor his use of the internet to reduce the risk of reoffending.

Breaching the order or sex offender notification requirements is a separate criminal offence in itself.

The 23-year-old was banned from using a device capable of accessing the internet unless it was made available for inspection upon request by a police officer, and unless police had been notified of its make, model and serial number.

The order also meant he was not allowed to use Snapchat or Instagram without notifying police.

But on November 27 last year he breached all of those rules - using an Instagram account named Wolfbite673 and a Snapchat account named D3VILH1MS3LF420.

Before the breach of the sexual harm prevention order he had previously failed to comply with sex offender registration requirements.

On September 30 he failed to tell police of an address where he stayed for eight days.

Between July 2019 and October 2020 he also failed to advise police within three days of him being issued a new bank card.

And then, between December 31 last year and January 6 this year, he committed a further sexual harm prevention order breach by using a phone number without registering it with the police.

He was later arrested and hauled before magistrates in Northampton earlier this month, where he admitted all charges facing him.

Graham was handed a six-month prison sentence - but magistrates decided to suspend the jail term for 18 months.

The child sex offender was fined £300 and told to pay costs of £85 and a surcharge to fund victim services of £128.