Sex offender in court for breaching rules with illegal Angus rail trip

A sex offender with a track record of breaching strict court orders has admitted breaking the rules again.

David Powell had a Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO) imposed at Liverpool Crown Court in 2007.

The SOPO[1], which outlines a list of stringent rules, was imposed after Powell was convicted of carrying out a sex act in front of two nine-year-old girls in a Liverpool park in 2007.

However, he appeared at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court[2] this week to admit breaching the order last summer.

Illegal train trip

On July 25, Powell was found to have taken a train from Montrose[3] to Dundee[4].

His SOPO states he must not enter any train station or terminus without permission.

Powell needs the prior written consent of the chief constable of Merseyside Police, or of the chief constable of the jurisdiction in which he lives before travelling by rail.

Solicitor Martin McGuire explained his client, of Julian Road in Glenrothes[5], had been travelling from Montrose – where he had been living – to Dunfermline[6] to meet extended family.

Sheriff James Williamson ordered reports and asked for clarification around the 39-year-old’s initial offending.

The sheriff said: “What I struggle to understand is what brought him to the attention of authorities.

“It shouldn’t be a mystery as to what brought him to the attention of the police in a locale in which he is not residing.”

Powell will be sentenced on December 5 after meeting with social workers.

The court heard he has already spent a week on remand in connection with this matter.

The sheriff continued Powell’s bail but pointed out his last sentence, imposed for a SOPO breach, was of 26 months imprisonment.

Repeated disregard for order

That prison sentence, imposed in 2020[7], came after he duped a woman into starting a relationship with him then failing to tell her he was subject to the 20-year SOPO.

This allowed him to have contact with her 14-month old child at her home in Arbroath[8].

In 2018, Powell duped a father of eight into allowing him to stay in his home and go on trips with his children.

For admitting this breach at Dundee Sheriff Court[9], he was been jailed for two years.

Powell was also jailed after admitting breaching its terms in England in 2016.

Having been banned from having any contact with children, he pled guilty to having a game of street football with two young boys[10] in Merseyside.

Jailing him for 12 months Judge David Aubrey QC, said that was the 10th time Powell had appeared in court for breaching the order or failing to meet his notification requirements.

For more local court content visit our dedicated page[11], or join us on Facebook[12].

References

  1. ^ The SOPO (www.stopitnow.org.uk)
  2. ^ Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court (www.thecourier.co.uk)
  3. ^ Montrose (www.thecourier.co.uk)
  4. ^ Dundee (www.thecourier.co.uk)
  5. ^ Glenrothes (www.thecourier.co.uk)
  6. ^ Dunfermline (www.thecourier.co.uk)
  7. ^ That prison sentence, imposed in 2020 (www.thecourier.co.uk)
  8. ^ Arbroath (www.thecourier.co.uk)
  9. ^ Dundee Sheriff Court (www.thecourier.co.uk)
  10. ^ he pled guilty to having a game of street football with two young boys (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
  11. ^ our dedicated page (www.thecourier.co.uk)
  12. ^ on Facebook (www.facebook.com)

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