Sex offender back behind bars

A SEX offender who flouted a ban preventing from having unsupervised contact with children was back behind bars last night after police found a 15-year-old boy on his settee.

Wayne Gilbank was originally jailed for two years in November 2005 for a string of sex offences against young girls, but was freed from prison in October last year.

The 26-year-old was also put on the sex offenders' register for ten years, and was given an indefinite ban on having unsupervised contact with people under the age of 16.

But on October 25 this year, police called at his home near Thirsk, North Yorkshire, to carry out a risk assessment and found the boy alseep on Gilbank's sofa.

Gilbank admitted breaching the conditions of a Sexual Offences Prevention Order and was yesterday jailed at Teesside Crown Court for four months by Judge Peter Fox, QC.

The judge told him: "I give you credit for your admission of the offence, but there is every reason for it to be made plain that courts' orders are to be obeyed.

"It must be reaslised that a breach almost invariably results in a term of immediate imprisonment, and this is not an exceptional case."

James Fenny, mitigating, said once Gilbank realised the boy was 15 he asked him to leave, and there was no suggestion of any sexual offences having been committed.

Mr Fenny said Gilbank was staying with his uncle in Kings Gardens, Sowerby, and the teenager was a friend of the family who had been locked out of his home the previous night.

"By his own account, he had not arranged to meet this boy," Mr Feeny told the judge. "It was simply something that occurred at his address."

Mr Feeny said Gilbank made the teenager look for somewhere else to stay for the night when he discovered his age, but he was unable to find anywhere.

Gilbank was jailed at Hull Crown Court two years ago after he admitted three offences of inciting a child to commit acts of gross indecency, and two of inciting a child to engage in sexual acts.