Paedophile lived in tent in Great Yarmouth to evade police

PAEDOPHILE LIVED IN TENT IN GREAT YARMOUTH TO EVADE POLICE

A dangerous sex offender has been sentenced to prison after trying to groom a teenage girl while living homeless in a tent in Great Yarmouth.

John Richards, aged 47, had been sleeping rough on the streets of the coastal town without informing authorities of his location when he initiated contact with a 13-year-old girl.

Richards, from Thorpe Road, Norwich, received a 20-month prison term at Norwich Crown Court after admitting to deliberately attempting to communicate with a minor for sexual purposes between September 8 and 24 of the previous year.

He also pleaded guilty to breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO).

Prosecutors explained that at the time of the offences, Richards was residing in a tent and frequently moving around, making it difficult for police to locate him.

The messages he sent to groom the girl included requests for images of her underwear, questions about her virginity, and sexual comments such as "Your hot," "Do u have nice boobs on u," and "What your bra size." These messages were uncovered after authorities seized his phone.

The court was told that Richards has a lengthy history of sexual offences, including repeated violations of his SHPO and engaging with vulnerable young girls.

In 2022, he was convicted of three attempted breaches of his SHPO, two counts of attempting to communicate sexually with a child, and one count of producing an indecent image of a minor.

This followed an unannounced police visit to his previous address, during which officers caught him deleting messages from his phone in a frantic attempt to hide them.

He was subsequently sentenced to three years in prison at Northampton Crown Court.