MARTIN SIMMS OF ISLE OF WIGHT JAILED FOR BREACHING COURT ORDERS IN SHOCK SEX OFFENDER CASE
In a serious development on the Isle of Wight, Martin Simms, a registered sex offender residing in Sandown, has been sentenced to prison after being found guilty of multiple breaches of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO).Simms, aged 42 and living at Park Mews in Sandown, was subject to strict conditions under the SHPO, which explicitly prohibited him from deleting his internet browsing history.
Additionally, he was mandated to produce any digital devices for police inspection upon request and to inform authorities of any new online usernames within three days of their creation.
These conditions were put in place following his previous convictions related to sexual offenses involving minors.
Despite these restrictions, police investigations revealed that Simms had violated the terms multiple times, raising serious concerns about his compliance and ongoing risk.
The incident came to light during an unannounced police visit to his residence on September 2, 2021.
Officers, accompanied by probation workers, arrived at his home in Sandown and conducted a thorough search of his digital devices.
During this inspection, they examined the internet history on his mobile phone and discovered that he had been using a teen chat room application on a separate device.
Simms initially denied possessing a second device but eventually admitted to its existence, handing it over to police for inspection.
Upon examination, the device did not contain the teen chat app, and Simms confessed that he had deleted both the app and its internet history.
He also admitted that the username he used for the app was not registered with police, as required by the SHPO.
Further investigation revealed that the device contained two other social media applications with two additional usernames, which had not been registered with authorities.
These platforms were used for chatting with young people, raising further concerns about his activities.
Simms faced multiple charges of breaching the Sexual Harm Prevention Order, specifically for deleting internet history, failing to make a device available for police inspection, and not providing police with two online usernames within the stipulated three-day period.
He pleaded guilty to these breaches when he appeared at the Isle of Wight Magistrates’ Court on September 3.
His case was subsequently transferred to Newport Crown Court, where he was sentenced to 18 months in prison.
It is important to note that Simms is already serving a seven-year prison sentence, which is currently on licence and is due to expire in 2024.
The court ordered that he serve the remainder of his current sentence in prison before beginning his new 18-month term for the breaches of the SHPO.
Background information indicates that Simms has a long history of sexual offenses.
In 2007, he was convicted of attempting to meet a child following sexual grooming, receiving a 30-month imprisonment sentence.
He was later convicted again in 2011 for grooming a child and in 2013 for similar offenses.
His previous sentences include a seven-year jail term with an extended three-year licence, and he has been on the sex offenders’ register indefinitely.
Simms moved to the Isle of Wight in June 2021, and the police visit in September was related to the handover of his old mobile phone by his probation officer.
During the police inspection, officers observed that Simms appeared visibly shaken and flustered.
When questioned about other devices, he initially denied having any but later revealed a hidden device concealed in his bed sheets.
On examining this device, police found that the teen chat app was absent, and Simms admitted to deleting it.
He also disclosed that he used the username 'Marty UK,' claiming to be 19, and another username, 'The Undertaker,' on different platforms.
Due to the seriousness of the breaches, the case was deemed unsuitable for magistrates’ court and was adjourned to October 15 at the Isle of Wight Crown Court, where Simms remains in custody pending sentencing.
