Sexually communicating with a 12-year-old child.

South Yorkshire Sex Offender Jailed for Breaching Court Order

A South Yorkshire sex offender who deliberately breached a court order designed to prevent him from committing more sexual offences has been put behind bars.

Judge Rachael Harrison, sentencing defendant Daniel Bartlett to 26 months in prison, stated that his offending amounted to a "deliberate and concerted, planned decision" to breach his court order.

Sheffield Crown Court heard during a March 9 hearing that Bartlett, 41, from Doncaster, was sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for two years, in August 2020 for sexually communicating with a 12-year-old child.

Bartlett was also made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO), designed to protect the public from sexual harm. As part of the order, Bartlett was required to hand over any device he owns with access to the internet when requested by the police.

Prosecuting barrister, Stuart Bell, revealed that a police officer visited Bartlett on May 11 last year, requesting his internet-enabled devices. Bartlett claimed to have only one device, a mobile phone, which immediately turned off after he gave it to the officer.

During a subsequent visit on September 16, Bartlett handed over one mobile phone, claiming he had no others. However, Bartlett was arrested on November 17 on suspicion of breaching the SHPO, and found to possess five internet-enabled mobile phones.

Judge Harrison stated that Bartlett had been using the devices to connect with others for sexual activity, expressing concern that he had been communicating with two women with children, one of whom had a 15-month-old baby.

Bartlett, of Bainbridge Road in Balby, Doncaster, pleaded guilty to charges of breaching a sexual harm prevention order and failing to comply with notification requirements at an earlier hearing.

In mitigation, Edward Moss stated that Bartlett's life as he knew it "has just basically come to an end" as a result of his offending.

Judge Harrison reactivated four months of Bartlett's suspended sentence from August 2020, and handed him another 22 months for his other offences, bringing his total sentence to 26 months.