Sex offender jailed for breaching court order by asking children to take dog for a walk

Ashleigh Weller, 25, of Marsh Street, Hanley, has been jailed for ignoring a court order after he approached children and asked if they wanted to take his dog for a walk.

Weller was made subject to a 10-year sexual harm prevention order after being convicted of sexual activity with a child. He pleaded guilty to breaching the order on June 9 at North Staffordshire Justice Centre.

Prosecutor Maggie Meakin said Weller was at a friend's house when he initiated conversation with a neighbour's children playing in a garden. "Ashleigh instigated conversation with the boys. He invited them into the garden and asked if they wanted to come to take the dog for a walk," she said.

The court heard that Weller's actions were a deliberate failure to comply with the requirements of the order, and that the offense put him in breach of a suspended sentence order.

Zoe Leese, mitigating for Weller, said he had difficulty understanding the prohibitions of his sexual harm prevention order. "He is exceptionally vulnerable and therefore I would suggest it would be unjust to activate his suspended sentence," she said.

However, magistrates disagreed and activated three weeks of Weller's suspended sentence. They also sentenced him to three weeks in prison, to run concurrently, for the new offense, making a total sentence of three weeks.