A KIDDERMINSTER sex offender who repeatedly breached a court order by having contact with children has been jailed.

Daniel Wood, of Nursery Grove, appeared at Worcester Crown Court on Friday (September 1) after previously admitting a breach of the notification terms of the sex offender register and breach of a risk of serious harm order imposed to protect children.

Paul Whitfield, prosecuting, said the risk of serious harm order was imposed on April 30, 2009, prohibiting the 32-year-old from having contact with two named children, while also preventing him from befriending any person under the age of 16.

Mr Whitfield said Wood had been living in Birmingham without notifying his offender manager. The move also placed him in contact with four children on a daily basis.

The mother of the four children had no knowledge of Wood’s antecedence or the orders to which he was subject, Mr Whitfield told the court.

Mr Whitfield said: “There were occasions when he was alone with them upstairs.”

Mr Whitfield described this as both a flagrant and continued breach of the other.

He added: “It is a lamentable record.

“There is a history of non-compliance and failure to comply with orders made over the years.”

Mr Whitfield said Wood had at least four convictions for failing to comply with the terms of a community order. Wood had received a six month prison sentence and a nine-week prison sentence for breaches he made in the past and Mr Whitfield described these breaches as “more of the same”.

Charles Hamer, defending, admitted the pre-sentence report was ‘not favourable’ to Wood but stressed that the defendant had not interfered with any children but had merely been present in the same house.

Mr Hamer also said Wood had already served three months in custody, the equivalent of a six month prison sentence.

The breach of the notification requirement of the sex offender register between March 1, and April 7, this year and the breach of the serious harm order took place between April 5, and May 22, this year.

Recorder Martin Jackson described the breach as both 'deliberate' and 'sustained'. He gave Wood credit for his early guilty plea for the notification breach but only a tenth credit for breach of the harm order because a guilty plea was only entered on the day of trial.

He added: "You were on bail for a similar offence of breaching the risk of sexual harm order and committing an offence while on bail is an aggravating factor.

“This is your eighth occasion of appearing before the court for breaches. That makes the breaches I'm dealing with today more serious and clearly mean they pass what is called the custody threshold."

Mr Jackson, who read a letter from the defendant which said, having experienced prison life, Wood did not wish to return there. However, Mr Jackson said prison life had not been enough of a deterrent because he had committed further offences.

For the breach of the risk of serious harm order Recorder Jackson imposed a nine month prison sentence and for the breach of the notification requirements he imposed four months in prison to be served concurrently.

Recorder Jackson also made a sexual harm prevention order which he said was necessary because of Wood's 'continuing risk, especially to children'. This order is indefinite in duration and Wood will have to apply if he wants it to be lifted. It has a range of conditions, including prohibiting him from having any contact with any children under 16 other than what is 'inadvertent and unavoidable' in the course of daily life.

The order also prohibits him from inviting or admitting any child under 16 into his home or garden.