Man jailed for breaching Sexual Harm Prevention Order in Barrow

MAN JAILED FOR BREACHING SEXUAL HARM PREVENTION ORDER IN BARROW

A man named Richard Cooke has received a two-year prison sentence after being found guilty of breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Cooke, aged 56 and without a fixed address, violated the order on February 29 this year while on temporary license in the town of Barrow.

The order explicitly restricts him from having any unsupervised contact or communication of any kind—such as online interactions or phone calls—with male children under 16 years old unless certain conditions are met, including accidental contact during routine public life, parental awareness of his convictions, or formal permission from Social Services.

According to Detective Constable Dan Chadwick of the MOSOVO team, Cooke was aware of the restrictions but nonetheless formed a friendship with a child and engaged in unsupervised contact, which was a clear breach.

It was also revealed that the child's family did not know about Cooke’s order, and their support was crucial in holding him accountable.

The police reaffirm their commitment to monitoring individuals under such orders, stating: “We dedicate ourselves to supervising and enforcing these legal restrictions.

When breaches occur, like in this instance, we act quickly to ensure the safety of our communities.”