July 2018 Newport paedophile breached sex offender register requirement A child sex offender who failed to notify authorities he was staying the weekends at his girlfriend’s home was sentenced to a community order. Matthew Diamond, 26, of Ocean Court, East Dock Road, Newport, pleaded guilty to failing to comply with the notification requirements of the sex offender register. Prosecutor Lowri Wynn Morgan told the city’s crown court how the defendant was jailed for 12 months in 2016 after being convicted of three counts of sexual assault against a girl under the age of 13. She said Diamond’s breach of his sex offender register terms was discovered when police were called to a domestic disturbance call at Newport’s Baldwin Street on March 18 this year. Officers discovered that the defendant was spending his weekends there with his new partner Melissa Hawkins who he had met at the Greyhound pub in the city. There was no offence committed during their investigation of that domestic incident. The court was told Diamond had stayed with his girlfriend, but not when her children were at home. Miss Morgan said the defendant had 11 previous convictions for 19 offences, including breaches of orders. Recorder Patrick Harrington QC told Diamond: “This offence does not deserve a custodial sentence.” The judge added that he was going to follow the recommendations of the “well thought out” pre-sentence report by the Probation Service. He sentenced the defendant to an 18-month community order and to attend a thinking skills programme.