DOUGLAS GREY, BRADFORD SEX OFFENDER, JAILED FOR BREACHING ORDERS AND ALLEGED OFFENCES
In September 2018, Douglas Grey, a 60-year-old sex offender from Bradford, was sentenced to prison after breaching his Sexual Harm Prevention Order by living with a woman and her children without informing authorities or the household.Grey had previously received an eight-month jail term, suspended for two years, in September 2017, after being convicted for making an indecent photograph of a child and inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.
Under the terms of his Sexual Harm Prevention Order, Grey was required to annually register his address and notify police if he was staying somewhere for more than seven nights.
Prosecutor Giles Bridge told Bradford Crown Court that Grey, residing on Queens Road, Bradford, lived with a woman and her children for approximately six to eight weeks without informing police or the woman about his status as a registered sex offender.
Grey also failed to disclose his criminal background to the woman, who was unaware of his past.
The court was informed that Grey and the woman met while both were inpatients at Bradford Royal Infirmary and maintained contact afterward.
Mr.
Bridge noted, “They stayed in touch and she took pity on him because she felt he was a lonely individual with health problems.” He added, “He said he was too proud to inform his new friend that he was a registered sex offender.” Grey was subsequently jailed for breaching his Sexual Harm Prevention Order and Sex Offender Notification requirements.
He was found guilty of failing to register his address where children were present on three occasions and inviting under-16-year-olds into his home, violations forbidden under the order.
Police traced Grey’s location after they became concerned about a photograph on his Facebook account depicting a child in a garden, with Grey obscuring the child's face.
This led officers to Grey’s residence, where he was living with the woman.
He was arrested on August 16.
The woman was described by Mr.
Bridge as feeling “sick” upon discovering Grey's true identity.
During a sentencing hearing, Recorder Anthony Hawks criticized Grey’s actions, stating, “What has happened here is that over a period of time you have befriended a woman and kept from her the fact you are a registered sex offender and have effectively set yourself up in her home.
It is a gross breach of your order.
It’s a fact that when residing at her house there must have been occasions when you had unsupervised contact with these children and it goes without saying the distress that lady must have suffered when the police arrived and she found out what you were.” In a separate incident in September 2017, Grey, then aged 59, attempted to engage a 12-year-old girl named ‘Demi’ online.
Unknown to him, the online profile he communicated with was operated by another individual.
Prosecutor Abigail Langford stated, “Grey was caught after police executed a warrant at the address of the other man on April 8 last year, after tracking social media accounts in his name.” A significant Facebook conversation ensued, with the individual posing as a 12-year-old girl.
Grey subsequently sent explicit images of his genitals to the account and asked if ‘Demi’ liked older men or was wearing underwear.
He also inquired if she would expose herself outside and suggested she send intimate pictures, with the discussions described as “very sexual, very graphic in nature.” Police recovered a memory stick from Grey’s home containing 13 images of child pornography, including children as young as seven.
Grey initially claimed his Facebook account had been hacked but later admitted to the offenses.
He pleaded guilty to attempting to incite a girl under 13 to engage in sexual activity.
Judge Durham Hall sentenced Grey to eight months in prison, suspended for two years, and called for him to complete a rehabilitation program of up to 90 days.
The judge warned, “You are motivated to try and identify and address this problem.
If there is any backsliding or failure on this order, you will end up back in front of me.” Additionally, Grey was placed under a five-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order and required to register as a sex offender for ten years.
