A FLINTSHIRE man has been jailed after he admitted breaching a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO).

Richard Peter Morris, aged 20 and of Tir Digonedd in Flint, appeared at Mold Crown Court on Friday.

He appeared in 2018 and was convicted for breaching a sexual risk order, for which he received a community sentence, and then in May 2020 when he was convicted for seven offences of breaching an SHPO.

At the 2020 sentencing, he received a 16 month suspended sentence.

But a matter of months later police were made aware he had breached the terms of his SHPO again by joining a social media site.

Ember-Jade Wong, prosecuting, said police visited his home on December 18 to carry out a routine check.

He told them he didn’t have any internet enabled devices, but the officers had information to suggest he’d used Snapchat.

He later admitted to having bought a phone and downloaded the app - in breach of both the SHPO and the suspended sentence.

Simon Mintz, defending, said: “It triggers the suspended sentence, but it is a much more limited offence - it justifies imposing only a fraction of that sentence.

“The original image offences, which he has not repeated, were committed when he was 15.

“He is a young man on the autistic spectrum. He really does have severe communication difficulties.

“He dropped out of school at 14 - what has he been doing since then?

“Nothing; living at home with his mother, drinking, taking cannabis, making no friends, not getting a job.

“This young man would and will find custody profoundly more harmful to his mental health than would normally have been the case.”

Judge Niclas Parry told Morris: “You have left the court no alternative but to do what it has tried very hard not to do; to impose a custodial sentence.

“You were made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order and although you don’t consider such an order is necessary, these are only made to protect children.

“On this occasion you breached it only months after I imposed a suspended sentence.

“You were fully aware you shouldn’t have been utilising that media app, and simply disregarded any order.

“I accept you are vulnerable. It will be your first prison sentence and will be even more difficult because of the national pandemic.”

Judge Parry handed Morris a four month custodial sentence for breaching the SHPO, as well as a further four months to run consecutively for breaching the suspended sentence order - making a total of eight months.