August 2022 Sex offender tells court he ‘self-identifies as a 12-year-old boy’ An already convicted sex offender who told Exeter Crown Court that he self-identifies as a 12-year-old boy was caught with child abuse images on his phone. Max Wilkes has suddenly become mute and unable to speak for the past three months. He had to write his pleas on a piece of paper for a support worker to read out when he appeared at Exeter Crown Court. Wilkes, aged 30, of Fore Street, Chudleigh, admitted two breaches of a sexual harm prevention order and one count of making indecent images of children by downloading them onto his phone. He was found with indecent images of children which had been saved on his phone The sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) was imposed at Exeter Crown Court in December 2019 and controls Wilkes’s online activity while allowing police to monitor his devices. He admitted breaking the order in two different ways, the first being by having four devices capable of accessing the internet and the other being by setting up an internet account in a name other than his own. Judge Peter Johnson adjourned his case until October to enable the police to clarify if any further charges are to follow a fuller examination of his devices. Miss Rebecca Wood, defending, said a psychological examination was carried out recently for social services and said his case is a complex one. He self-identifies as a 12-year-old boy named Oscar Green. Mr Nigel Wraith, prosecuting, said images had been found in an examination of his phone. A tablet device is still being examined and a decision has yet to be taken about whether to prosecute over allegations of sexual communications with a child, after he had contacted a young girl and sent sexual messages.