Sex offender claimed to have found phone SIM card in Peterlee – The Northern Echo

A SEX offender breached the terms of his notification requirements by signing up for three apps on a mobile phone, a court heard.

Christopher Lee Stephenson was also using a SIM card belonging to someone else which he claimed to have found in the street.

Durham Crown Court was told a police officer on patrol in Peterlee town centre approached Stephenson, on January 29.

He was found to be in possession of a mobile phone and, on examination, three apps used by him were discovered, social media sites Tinder and Tik-Tok and a twitter account.

Chris Wood, prosecuting, said this was in breach of the notification requirements of the sex offenders register, which Stephenson was made subject of due to a conviction from January 22, last year.

Dr Wood said he has since breached the order for which he served a subsequent one-month prison sentence.

Stephenson, 26, of no fixed abode, who has been in custody since his arrest, admitted three counts of failing to comply with his notification requirements, and one charge of theft of the SIM.

Susan Hirst, mitigating, said at the time of arrest he was homeless and his case was that he found the card on the day he was approached by police, since when he has been in custody.

Imposing a four-month prison sentence, Judge James Adkin said an aggravating feature of the case was that Stephenson has already breached the order once and was fully aware of the requirements.

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Sex offender claimed to have found phone SIM card in Peterlee - The Northern Echo

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