Sexual offences against a young girl.

Man Jailed Again for Contact with Single Mother and Young Daughters

Stephen Agate, 37, unemployed, of Wordsworth Road, Worthing, has been sentenced to three years in prison after breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) and failing to notify his address to police as a Registered Sex Offender.

Agate was found to be associating with a single mother with young daughters in Worthing, just four months after being released from prison on supervision licence.

He had previously served a four-year prison sentence for causing an eight-year-old girl to engage in sexual activity. In July 2015, he was sentenced for offenses against the girl, whom he had befriended in Burgess Hill. Agate was also given an indefinite SHPO and was made a Registered Sex Offender for life.

PC Matt Andrews of the West Sussex VISOR (Violent and Sexual Offender) Unit, stated: "Agate was released from prison on licence in July last year and stayed at a Probation-approved address in Worthing. In November, he met the mother locally and struck up a relationship with her, resulting in him staying at her address. His unexplained absence from his approved address was noticed and swiftly followed up. Our enquiries led us to where he was staying within a few days. He was immediately arrested and returned to prison as well as being charged with these extra offences."

Andrews further explained that the mother was unaware of Agate's criminal history and that he had preyed on a young girl in very similar circumstances. "This investigation, in which we worked with the National Probation Service, shows how action is taken to supervise sexual offenders in the community and to safeguard the public, especially vulnerable adults and children," he concluded.