January 2020 Sex offender who stayed at home with child to be sentenced at crown court A sex offender who breached his notification requirements by staying in a house with a child is to be sentenced at crown court. Andrew Travis Ward, 44, is due to appear at Southampton Crown Court next month to be sentenced for the offence of failing to comply with notification requirements. Ward stayed at an address that had not previously been notified for the qualifying period of seven days. He also stayed at an address with a child for a period of at least 12 hours, which he was banned from doing. Appearing at Southampton Magistrates’ Court, Ward, of Shirley High Street, Southampton, pleaded guilty to two counts of failing to comply with notification requirements. His case was adjourned until February 11 and the case moved to Southampton Crown Court for sentencing. He was given conditional bail until the next hearing. October 2018 Jail let off for child abuse images man at centre of CPS sex doll mix up A man caught with thousands of child abuse images has walked free from court. Andrew Ward, 42, of Holbury Drove, Holbury, was handed a two-year community order at Portsmouth Crown Court. Ward, a former Gosport man, admitted 12 charges of making indecent images of children. As reported, a charge of importing an obscene article – an alleged child sex doll – was dropped after prosecutors told Ward’s defence team he was being prosecuted over a large-breasted doll. The CPS had charged him over a flat-chested doll seized at Heathrow Airport. A judge stayed the prosecution over the mix-up. At a sentencing hearing Portsmouth’s senior judge Roger Hetherington imposed the community order with 35 days of rehabilitation activities. Ward must pay £375 costs and sign the sex offenders’ register for six years. Children in the images were as young as eight.