Convicted sex offender banned from accessing internet found with Apple iPhone in Blackpool

A convicted sex offender from Blackpool, who failed to reveal he had a secret mobile phone which could connect to the internet, has been spared a return to jail.

A judge in Preston heard that Ryan Smalley, of no fixed abode, was forbidden from possessing online devices without informing police.

But when officers made a routine visit to the hostel where the 25-year-old was staying in the resort they spotted the outlines of what they suspected were two phones in his jeans' pocket and a shirt pocket.

Barrister Cecilia Pritchard, prosecuting, said just weeks earlier Smalley was made the subject of a 10-year sexual harm prevention order following a conviction for a sex offence in Stanley Park, Blackpool.

One of the conditions of the order was that he must notify police within three days if he acquired a device capable of internet connection.

When the officers at the hostel asked Smalley if he had a phone he produced a basic red Nokia from his shirt pocket. Asked if he had another mobile he pulled out a black iPhone from his jeans, saying it was an old one he had found.

Ms Pritchard said the phone was switched on, and fully-charged. When they searched his room at the hostel they found some Apple Air-Pods and an Apple charger.

"At no point on the database had he reported this phone (to police)," she said.

Smalley pleaded guilty to breaching the order before Blackpool Magistrates Court in August and was sent to Crown Court for sentence.

Recorder Tim Harrington told Smalley: "An order was made that you knew you had to comply with. If you have a mobile phone you have to tell police.

"You didn't do that and when they came to check you lied about that."

He said that because of his previous convictions, which included two cases of battery, the sentence would be 18 months, with a third off for an early admission of the offence, making 12 months in prison.

But he added: "I believe it would be best served (for you) to get some support in the community." So he suspended it for 18 months, together with a five-month drug rehabilitation requirement and 10 days of rehabilitation activity.