Convicted sex offender Jeremy van der Sanden, subject to a sexual harm prevention order, posed as a paediatric doctor and manipulated three women into relationships.

Swindon Crown Court heard on Friday (July 29) that van der Sanden, of The Heights in Kingshill, used a false name and online persona to deceive a woman into a relationship, a breach of his notification requirements.

Judge James Townsend stated, "You worryingly posed as a paediatric doctor and entered into a relationship with an unsuspecting woman. That posed a clear risk, not only to her but also because you could have come into contact with children. The three people you have effectively manipulated have been badly affected by your deception."

While acknowledging the offences didn't directly involve children, the judge expressed concern about van der Sanden's ongoing manipulative behaviour. He noted, "A troubling feature of this case is in spite of the fact you have a highly supportive family, and in spite of the fact there has been intervention by the probation service, you have continued to offend. The facts of these offences and the troubling contents of the pre-sentence report suggest you remain capable of manipulating people and I suspect to some extent you are a fantasist."

The 27-year-old, previously subject to a community order for possession of Class A indecent images of children, pleaded guilty to multiple breaches of his sexual harm prevention order, including failing to notify police of his address and new laptop, using an undisclosed name, and staying at an address for more than seven days without notifying the police.

Van der Sanden was sentenced to 19 months imprisonment and his community order was revoked. He will also be subject to a new sexual harm prevention order until May 2032.