November 2015 Sex offender jailed for flouting order to stay away from children A registered sex offender has been jailed after he flouted an order to stay away from children and befriended a neighbour’s 14-year-old daughter. Gordon Jones was also found with extreme animal pornography and images of child rape on his computer when it was checked by police. The 72-year-old was subject to a Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO) because he was jailed for abusing girls in 2007. The order restricted his use of the internet and banned him from being alone with any child unless their parents were told of his previous convictions. Police who were carrying out routine monitoring of registered sex offenders became alarmed after they saw him with a 14-year-old girl who lived next door to him in South Devon. They discovered he had made friends with the family and even sat watching television with the girl which they were both covered with a duvet. Jones had been left alone with the girl on at least one occasion but he had not done anything inappropriate, Exeter Crown Court was told. Jones, from Torbay, admitted two counts of breaking a SOPO, one of possessing extreme pornography, and one of possessing the most serious kind of child abuse images. He was jailed for 18 months by Recorder Andrew Oldland, who told him: “I accept you did not do anything improper with this girl, but the purpose of this order is to keep you out of temptation and to keep the public safe.” Jonathan Barnes, for the prosecution, said the offences came to light when an officer noticed Jones with the girl while carrying out a routine monitoring visit. Checks on Jones’s computed showed five category A images of children suffering serious abuse and an image of a person having oral sex with a horse. Jones was not represented. The judge asked him if he had anything to say and he replied: “I’m guilty. Sentence me.”