Child sex offender has been given tougher restrictions on his online activity.

Cumbria Child Sex Offender Faces Tougher Online Restrictions

A Cumbria Constabulary police officer informed Carlisle Crown Court that 26-year-old Jonathon Fell, a "very high risk" child sex offender, has been subjected to stricter online activity restrictions. The officer highlighted Fell's repeated dishonesty and manipulative behavior when confronted about the risk he poses to the community.

Fell, who has resided in both Carlisle and Workington, committed his latest offenses shortly after being released from a previous sentence. In February 2021, he was imprisoned for 45 months for various online child sex offenses, including inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity.

The officer stated, "He's assessed as very high, which means he's deemed to be immediately at risk of reoffending." Fell, within a week of his release from prison in January 2021, purchased a phone and resumed his criminal activities "really, really quickly."

The officer requested three new conditions be added to Fell's sexual harm prevention order:

• Fell must notify the police in advance of any intention to purchase or obtain a phone or digital device.
• Police offender managers can conduct unannounced spot checks on his devices 12 times annually.
• Fell must submit to lie detector tests with seven days' notice.

Fell's existing sexual harm prevention order allowed him to acquire phones or internet devices with a three-day notification period. However, the officer revealed that Fell had concealed an internet device from the police and Probation Service during his offending period.

The officer emphasized, "Mr Fell has on a number of occasions been manipulative and has lied to the police and other agencies." He argued that unannounced checks were only possible with "reasonable grounds" and that Fell's word could not be trusted without independent verification. "Polygraph testing is absolutely essential to be able to manage him," the officer added.

Fell's defense attorney, Jeff Smith, contested the need for these new conditions. Judge Nicholas Barker ultimately approved the first two conditions but rejected the request for compulsory polygraph testing.

The judge explained that the advanced notice for acquiring phones or internet devices would eliminate the three-day "window of opportunity" Fell previously exploited. Regarding the lie detector tests, he stated, "He is not on licence, and it seems to me, looking at all the circumstances, that the police are in possession of sufficient supervisory powers to ensure compliance with this order." The judge concluded that if Fell is found to "persistently lie and manipulate," the police can reapply for the polygraph testing.

Fell has previously resided at Wastwater Avenue, Workington, and more recently at Lowther Street, Carlisle. He is indefinitely on the Sex Offenders' Register.