A pensioner from Derby with a history of child sex offenses has pleaded guilty to another 17 of them.

Lionel Winson, 78, admitted trying to contact underage girls over the internet and possessing vile child abuse images.

He also failed to tell the police he was using social media, as he was required to do under the terms of an order placed on him for past offending.

In 2009, Winson, from Normanton, was jailed for trying to contact a 13-year-old girl who was actually a police officer.

Now he faces a month-long wait to learn his fate for his more recent offenses.

At Southern Derbyshire Magistrates' Court on Monday, May 15, the chair of the bench said: "We are sending your case to crown court as the offenses are so serious that our powers here at magistrates are insufficient. The crown court needs a recent pre-sentence report and you must report to St Mary's Wharf police station within three days of today. You are aware of the conditions (of your bail) and if you breach any of them you can be brought back to court."

In 2014, Winson, of Douglas Street, was handed a sexual harm prevention order at Derby Crown Court for carrying out similar offenses. Under the terms of the order, he must tell the police of any social media accounts he has set up, along with the relevant passwords.

However, he failed to do this for accounts including WhatsApp, Kik, and Snapchat.

The defendant pleaded guilty to four charges of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child in relation to four victims.

He also pleaded guilty to charges of breaching a sexual harm prevention order, attempting to breach a sexual harm prevention order, failing to comply with the requirements of the sex offender register, and one count of making indecent images of children.

Winson was jailed for three years and three months in 2009 for a 2007 offense of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and possession of indecent images.

On that occasion, he groomed a girl he believed to be aged 13 but who turned out to be a police officer posing as a young teen. They met at St Pancras railway station in London.

In 2011, he breached the lifetime order he was handed, and he did the same in 2015 when he hid electronic devices he should have told the police about but didn't. This occurred at his then address in Sedgefield Green, Mickleover.

The defendant will be sentenced at Derby Crown Court on June 19.