March 2021 Pervert given final chance after chatting to schoolboy he met playing Grand Theft Auto on PlayStation A sex offender has been given a final chance after using a fake name to contact a schoolboy on the PlayStation. David Coughtrie breached a Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO) by giving his number to the teenager after they met playing Grand Theft Auto. The 53-year-old was only caught after an adult overheard their conversation and did a Google search. Coughtrie also failed to notify Staffordshire Police of an alias he was using. Now the defendant has been handed a two-year community order at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court. Prosecutor Antony Longworth said the defendant began playing Grand Theft Auto with 25 people. He then contacted one of the group who was a schoolboy. Mr Longworth said: “The boy asked for the defendant’s number. He felt he was a nice guy. The defendant provided a phone number.” But an adult overheard a conversation between the teenager and the defendant. Mr Longworth added: “They looked up the defendant on Google and found he had a record of convictions for sexual offences with children and reported the matter to the police.” The defendant told police it would be ‘suicidal’ to use his real name as people would look it up and find out his background. Coughtrie, of Kimberley Road, Etruria, pleaded guilty to breaching a SOPO and failing to comply with the notification requirements of the sex offenders’ register. As part of the community order Coughtrie must complete a rehabilitation activity requirement for 25 days. Judge David Fletcher said: “You have got to understand you are the subject of two requirements – the sexual offenders’ notification requirement and a Sexual Offences Prevention Order. If you breach them you end up back in the crown court. “Do not try and be clever, do not try and be devious. Get on with your life and comply with it (the order). “Any breaches come back to me. You will have run out of chances and it will be an immediate sentence of imprisonment.” February 2021 Sex offender hauled back to court for not telling police about an alias name A paedophile with almost 100 convictions, of which almost half are for sexual offences has appeared in court again. Fifty-two-year-old David Coughtrie pleaded guilty to failing to comply with the notification requirements of the sex offenders’ register Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court heard the defendant failed to notify an alias name to Staffordshire Police. Coughtrie, of Kimberley Road, Etruria, also admitted breaching a Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO) after he contacted a 15-year-old using a PlayStation. Coughtrie has a “formidable” criminal record of almost 100 convictions, which included indecent assaults on multiple children. In 2005, Coughtrie was jailed for possession of indecent images of children and speaking to other paedophiles in online chatrooms. In June 2016, The pervert was jailed after police found two mobile phones hidden under his bed – in breach of the sexual harm prevention order. In June 2019, he breached a court order by having a mobile phone which could access the internet. The phone was analysed. Certain internet searches were found including ‘pre-teen models’ and ‘virgin solo models’ He will be sentenced after a report is prepared on him by probation. His bail was extended. June 2019 Convicted sex offender breached SHPO Sex offender David Coughtrie breached a court order by having a mobile phone which could access the internet. The 51-year-old was made the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) in 2015 after he was convicted of possessing indecent images of children. As part of the order he was prohibited from using any device capable of accessing the internet. But Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court heard police visited the defendant at his home on December 19, 2017 and he denied being in possession of any phone. However officers returned on January 11, 2018 and, after several requests, he handed over a mobile. Now Coughtrie, of Kimberley Road, Etruria, has been sentenced to a 12 month community order with 40 hours unpaid work after he admitted breaching a SHPO. Prosecutor David Farley said: “The phone was analysed. Certain internet searches were found including ‘pre-teen models’ and ‘virgin solo models’. None of the websites were accessed.” Judge Paul Glenn told Coughtrie: “You have a bad record.” Coughtrie was ordered to pay £150 costs. June 2016 Man, 48, jailed after breaching sexual harm prevention order PERVERT David Coughtrie has been jailed after police found two mobile phones hidden under his bed – in breach of a sexual harm prevention order. The 48-year-old was originally convicted of making indecent images of children in 2005, and since then has been required to inform the police if he changed his address. An interim sexual harm prevention order was imposed on Coughtrie after he failed to properly register his new address last year. The order barred Coughtrie from possessing devices capable of accessing the internet without storing a browsing history. On March 1 officers executed a search warrant at Coughtrie’s home in Kimberley Road, Etruria, on March 1 after he had denied them entry to the property on two previous occasions. They subsequently found two mobile phones and a tablet computer hidden under a bed. Officers also found a credit card which Coughtrie had not registered with the police, also in breach of the order. None of the devices contained any incriminating images. Coughtrie was handed an eight-month prison sentence at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court yesterday after admitting to two breaches of the interim order and failing to comply with the notification requirements. Prosecutor Barry White said: “The officers searched the property and the defendant continued to be abusive. They found two Sony Xperia phones and a tablet.” The court heard that Coughtrie had convictions for 86 previous offences, including indecent assault, but had not been convicted of a sex-related offence since 2005. Judge Paul Glenn gave Coughtrie credit for his early guilty pleas but said the fact that he had breached the interim order while on bail was an aggravating factor. He sentenced the defendant to eight months in prison, but told him that as he had been on remand since his arrest in March he would be released soon. Update: Now lives in Stoke on Trent June 2005 Sex offender jailed Convicted sex offender with a “deviant and sustained” sexual interest in young children was jailed for 18 months at Birmingham Crown Court after being caught with indecent photos taken from the internet. In passing sentence on David Coughtrie, Judge Philip Gregory said he had a “formidable” criminal record which included indecent assaults on children. He went on: “I am satisfied only a custodial sentence can be justified for the offences you have committed, which have been shameless and determined.” Coughtrie, 37, of Lapworth Grove, Balsall Heath, who admitted 14 charges of possessing indecent images of children, was also ordered to register as a sex offender for 10 years. Peter Cooke, prosecuting, said police became aware that indecent images of children had been found on the computer of a woman Coughtrie had had a relationship with. As a result they raided his home in November 2003 and seized a computer along with two hard drives which were found to contain 61 illegal pictures. Coughtrie was bailed but bought another computer and following a second raid a further 83 pictures were found. The court heard the images were of children ranging from the very young to around 14. When interviewed Coughtrie admitted “nocturnal” use of the internet and going into chat rooms.