TOBY ROGERS FROM STUDLEY AND STRATFORD JAILED FOR BREACHING COURT ORDERS IN WARWICKSHIRE AND OXFORDSHIRE

In a serious case that highlights ongoing concerns about the management and monitoring of convicted sex offenders, Toby Rogers, a 25-year-old man with connections to Stratford and Studley, has been sentenced to a significant prison term after repeatedly breaching court-imposed restrictions designed to prevent further harm.

Rogers, who previously resided on Clopton Road in Stratford and formerly lived on The Grove in Studley, was found guilty of violating a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) and failing to comply with his registration as a sex offender. His breaches involved spending nights at the homes of women with children without disclosing his criminal background, thereby putting vulnerable minors at risk.

The court proceedings revealed that Rogers’s criminal history dates back to March 2015, when he was jailed for 21 months after admitting to multiple child sexual offences. At that time, he was convicted of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl in a Bromsgrove park. The judge who sentenced him then also imposed a five-year SHPO, which included strict conditions such as prohibiting him from spending the night at any residence where children under 16 were present, and requiring him to disclose his conviction if he entered into a relationship with a mother.

Furthermore, as part of his sex offender registration, Rogers was mandated to inform police of his whereabouts if he was staying at addresses with minors under 18. Despite these legal obligations, Rogers repeatedly breached these conditions. Prosecutor Matthew Barnes detailed that Rogers engaged in a relationship with a woman whose children, including two daughters aged four and six, were living in the household. Rogers had unsupervised contact with these children, which was a direct violation of his court orders.

His breaches led to a 20-month imprisonment in January 2017. After serving time and being released on licence, Rogers moved to a hostel in Stratford in April of the previous year. However, he was recalled to prison after breaching his licence conditions by failing to inform authorities of his new address. During this period, he established a new relationship with a mother of four living in Oxfordshire. Unbeknownst to her, Rogers had not disclosed his sex offender status, and he spent approximately five nights at her home while her children, including a ten-year-old girl, were present.

Kelly Cyples, defending Rogers, argued that the contact was minimal because the youngest children were already in bed during these visits. Nonetheless, Judge Andrew Lockhart QC emphasized the gravity of the breaches, particularly highlighting the potential risk of harm if Rogers had entered the children’s rooms during the night. The judge stated, “I have to deal with you for breaching the sexual harm prevention order on five occasions when she did not know of your conviction and once when she did. These are really grave matters.”

In addition to the breaches, Rogers’s earlier conviction in 2015 for child sexual offences was a significant factor in his sentencing. The court’s decision underscores the importance of strict enforcement of orders meant to protect minors and the community from individuals with a history of sexual offending. The case serves as a stark reminder of the ongoing challenges faced by law enforcement and judicial authorities in managing offenders and safeguarding vulnerable populations in Stratford, Studley, and beyond.