Blackburn man who breached sex offences order walked free

BLACKBURN MAN WHO BREACHED SEX OFFENCES ORDER WALKED FREE

A man who was jailed for 39 weeks walked out of court 10 minutes later with an apology.

Blackburn Magistrates' Court had activated a suspended sentence imposed by the Crown Court, but after defence solicitor Damien Pickup queried the sentence, there was a U-turn.

Kenneth Parry, 38, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to two charges of breaching sex offender registration requirements.

He was committed on bail to Preston Crown Court to be sentenced for the offences which put him in breach of a suspended sentence.

Zulekha Bhuta, prosecuting, said the notification requirements meant Parry had to report to police and confirm his address or whether he was homeless.

He missed the deadline for reporting in December and January.

Mr Pickup said Parry had been working with the probation service and had attended all his appointments.

He said Parry had been living in the homeless pods at Shadsworth but was forced to leave.

He was required to register that he was homeless within three days, but was three days late.

The next time he was due to register was on January 5, and he went to the police station to do that.

"He was with a friend, and they had an argument at the police station," said Mr Pickup.

"Officers came to deal with the situation, and they told him to leave and come back the next day to sign on.

That is what he did.

It was a breach, but a very minor one." "This is not someone who is disregarding his responsibilities," said Mr Pickup.

"He has remained in contact but, unfortunately, he has been late on two occasions." The magistrates jailed Parry for 39 weeks, but after the sentence was queried he was brought back up from the cells.

The court clerk apologised and explained that, because it was a new offence, the magistrates did not have the power to deal with a breach of a Crown Court suspended sentence.