A CONVICTED paedophile banned from going on social media websites was caught using a phoney Facebook account to chat to a 15-year-old girl.
Father-of-two Sean Ellis used a false name to log on – flouting a Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO) designed to keep a check on his movements and behaviour.
Stafford Crown Court heard it was his sixth breach of the order, made in 2007 for having sexual activity with a 14-year-old girl.
Ellis, 27, formerly of Thornley Street, Burton, but currently of no fixed address, was jailed for 32 months and ordered to register as a sex offender for life after admitting the breach. Judge Mark Eades told him: “I find this a disturbing case. You are intelligent but you are in complete denial of the gravity of what you are doing.
“The chief concern of the court is not you, it’s the safety of the public. You are ploughing your own furrow regardless of what you have been told to do.”
Nick Burn, prosecuting, said police became aware of the defendant’s Facebook activity in May, using the name ‘Stephen Mills’ and showing a werewolf as his profile picture.
The account’s log showed he had a 15-year-old girl as a ‘friend’ and she had visited the premises where he was living.
The court heard that after the offences against the 14-year-old, Ellis was also convicted of making indecent photos of children in July 2011, followed by two breaches of the SOPO in September the same year and April last year, both involving using Facebook without permission.
Darron Whitehead, defending, said: “He is an isolated individual, with little or no friends and every time he’s in trouble with the police, his mobile phone is taken from him and he loses contact.
“Foolishly he set up this Facebook account in a false name to establish contact with old friends. There is no suggestion that contact with [the 15 year old girl] was of a sexual nature.”
He would not be eligible for sex offender treatment because he was unlikely ever to admit the offences for which he was originally convicted.
May 2012
Paedophile caught using Facebook
A paedophile banned from using social media websites has been jailed for 18 months after being caught on Facebook for the second time.
Sean Ellis (26) has been a registered sex offender since 2007, when he was jailed for 12 months for sexual offences against a 14-year-old girl.
After his release from prison, he received two convictions for failing to keep police informed of where he was living.
Then, in July last year, he was convicted again after someone with whom he shared a hostel found 24 indecent images of children and a video file on his laptop computer.
He received a community order and was banned from using e-mail and websites other than those that could be closely monitored by the police.
But the following month, Ellis breached the order by setting up a Facebook account under the name of “Simon Ellis”.
After serving half of a six-month sentence, he set up a new Facebook account in his own name in February this year.
Having pleaded guilty to the latest charge of breaching the sexual offences prevention order, Ellis, of Ingle Drive, Ashby, appeared at Leicester Crown Court for sentencing yesterday.
Linsey Knott, prosecuting, said: “In August last year, the detective responsible for supervising the defendant spoke with him to reiterate the terms of what he could and couldn’t do. On March 5 this year, the detective became aware of another Facebook account.
“The first entry was on February 28 this year and his use of the account primarily involved contacting a female.
“It was recorded on Facebook they were in a relationship together.”
The court heard that the female, now aged 18, is expecting his baby.
Ellis has 17 previous convictions for a total of 42 offences, including dishonesty and road offences.
Steven Newcombe, representing Ellis, said: “He knew undoubtedly that registering a Facebook account would run him into difficulties. When he accessed Facebook it was for a short period of time to locate his stepmother and communicate with his girlfriend, because neither of them hadcredit on their telephones. There’s no suggestion he used Facebook to contact children or young people.”
Mr Newcombe said Ellis had struggled to understand exactly what the court order was banning him from.
Judge Simon Hammond agreed to reword the order so that it stated clearly that Ellis was banned from Facebook.
Jailing him for 18 months, he said: “It’s absolutely clear this defendant knew he should not have a Facebook account.”
April 2012
Paedophile illegally set up Facebook account
A convicted paedophile has been back in court after illegally setting up an account on Facebook.
Sean Ellis pleaded guilty to breaching the terms of a sexual offences prevention order when he appeared at Leicester Magistrates’ Court this week.
The court heard that Ellis (26), of Ingle Drive, Ashby, had 17 previous convictions for a total of 42 offences dating back to 2007 when he was convicted at Derby Crown Court and imprisoned for having sex with a girl under the age of 16. In 2011, he was made the subject of a sexual offences prevention order after being convicted at Leicester Crown Court for making indecent photographs of children.
Under its terms, he was banned from registering with social networking sites such as Facebook.
Ellis was also sentenced to six months in prison at Portsmouth Crown Court last year, after opening a Facebook account under an assumed name.
Police in Hampshire, who continued to monitor his internet activity when he returned to Leicestershire earlier this year, discovered he had set up a new Facebook account in his own name, which he used from February 28 to March 13.
Sukhjit Singh, prosecuting, said: “This is his second breach of the order. He was told by officers that in no circumstances should he use Facebook, but he seems to have disregarded this warning.”
In mitigation, Roger Day said Ellis was confused about the exact terms of the order.
He said: “This offence was entirely different to the previous breach. He signed up using his own name and passwords known to police so he could keep in touch with his girlfriend in Portsmouth and research his family tree.”
Magistrate Lorraine Mason said the court’s powers were insufficient to punish Ellis, who will be sentenced for the offence at Leicester Crown Court on May 15.
