A sex offender is back behind bars after breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO)

Jordan Larcombe, of Summit Way in Southampton, was handed the SHPO on 5 April 2017 after he was convicted of sexually abusing two teenage girls on the Isle of Wight.

Under the conditions of the SHPO, 26-year-old Larcombe is prohibited from using any phone or device capable of accessing the internet unless it can retain the internet history. He must also make the device available for inspection on request by police, and he must not delete any internet history or mobile phone use.

During a home visit on 14 June this year, officers examined his phone and saw that he had been messaging a woman over WhatsApp. He had also configured the ‘disappearing messages’ facility, meaning any new messages in the chat would disappear after 24 hours – a breach of his SHPO.

In one message, he told the woman that she could begin flirting with him now because he had ‘just put disappearing messages on’.

He was subsequently arrested and charged with the breach, before being remanded to court.

Appearing at Southampton Crown Court on Wednesday 6 July he was jailed for two years.

PC Rob Thomas, from the Western Offender Management team, said: “We take the management of sex offenders incredibly seriously, and invest significant resources into doing so in order to keep the public safe.

“Officers will often make unannounced visits to offenders where they may be subject to an intrusive investigative interview process. This helps us understand an offender’s routine, interests and behaviours so we can closely monitor them.

“On this occasion, we visited Larcombe’s home and quickly established that he had deliberately and knowingly breached his Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

“These orders are put in place to protect the public, and ensure that individuals do not re-offend. Where they choose to disregard them, they are rightly punished and I am pleased that Larcombe is now back behind bars.”