September 2010

Sex offender jailed for breaching orders

A SEX offender was yesterday locked up for 14 months for repeatedly flouting court orders designed to make sure he is no risk to the public.

Gary Hopwood failed to tell police where he was living and went to a refuge where there were children, despite being banned from having contact with under-18s.

The two breaches were committed within a fortnight and came a year after he was given a conditional discharge for not informing the authorities of his address.

Also last year, Hopwood was given a two-year community penalty for breaching his sexual offences prevention order on four separate occasions.

Rachel Dyson, mitigating, said since the incidents in the summer, Hopwood, 28, had managed to beat his heroin addiction – but started using cocaine – and got a job as a plasterer.

Hopwood, formerly of Grassington Road, Middlesbrough, was put on the sex offenders’ register and had the prevention order imposed after a conviction in 2005 for indecent assault.

At a magistrates’ court hearing last month, he admitted breaching the SOPO, failing to comply with notification requirements, theft and possessing an article for use in a fraud.

Teesside Crown Court heard yesterday that Hopwood stole a video games controller from a house on June 21, and was part of a scam on April 15.

He was caught with a bag of labels taken from genuine shop items, and had planned to put them on used goods to make them look new