A young Pinehurst man who was handed a court order over concerns he posed a sexual risk to children has breached it after only one week.
Rhys Cutler, 19, of no fixed abode, was banned from communicating with children unless he had the consent of the parent or guardian as part of a Sexual Risk Order put in place for 10 years by Swindon Magistrates' Court on May 1.
But on May 7 he was spotted walking through Swindon town centre with two girls later found to be aged 13 and 14, and was later seen again on CCTV in the company of four people - including the same girls.
When approached by police, Cutler ran, and was discovered in a shed in the back garden of a nearby property by a police dog.
PD Conan had located a male wanted for breaching his sexual risk order in Swindon.
— Wilts Police Dogs (@wiltspolicedogs) May 8, 2024
The male ran off from officers yesterday and couldn’t be located. Thankfully PD Conan helped with the search, locating the male hiding in a shed in someone’s back garden. Well done team 👏🏻 pic.twitter.com/GOtMAujKK7
He was then kept in custody overnight and taken to Swindon Magistrates' Court on May 8, where he pleaded guilty to breaching the order.
Acting on behalf of Cutler, Miss Hillier said he was searching for his younger cousin who had gone missing when he was introduced to two girls who were friends of that person.
"The images of the CCTV show that although he was not in close proximity to them, he was in contact with them so did breach the order," she said.
"He ran from the police because he was panicked, he didn't know what the police wanted, but once detained he was fully cooperative."
The court heard from the Probation Service who confirmed he was already under a community order but had breached it twice by failing to attend meetings, including one scheduled on May 7 when he breached the Sexual Risk Order.
Magistrates decided to revoke the community order and gave Cutler a six-week prison sentence, suspended for 12 months.
He was also ordered to attend 12 sessions of mental health treatment and 20 rehab activity sessions.
They said: "We’ve taken quite some time to consider this matter very, very carefully and we are minded to take into account the nature of the offence, which we feel was somewhat flagrant.
"You have a current community order in place and we have heard from probation about noncompliance on your part, your record of attending is very, very poor.
"We believe that the breach is so serious that it has to be the only suitable option, you won’t be going to prison today but if you breach this order you will be taken to prison."
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