A convicted sex offender found himself back in court after he failed to register his new address in Darlington.

Chisanga Kapambwe was found after a specialist police officer tracked him down after contacting the Immigration Service.

Teesside Crown Court heard how the 28-year-old admitted failing to comply with the terms of his sex offender registration order between January 29 and April 4 this year.

Kapambwe, of no fixed abode, was evicted from his previous home before failing to register his new Darlington address over a nine-week period.

A judge heard how the defendant was made subject to the notification requirement for ten years following his conviction for sexual activity with a child under 16 in 2019.

Elisha Marsay, mitigating, said when her client was made homeless through no fault of his own it had ‘broken the camel’s back’.

She said: “He has expressed regret and remorse at his actions at the very earliest stage.

“He was evicted from his property in December last year through no fault of his own. As a result of that, his father’s illness, and his immigration status – this simply broke the camel’s back.

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“He admitted it was just an oversight as he had a lot going on in his life at the time.”

Judge Timothy Stead said: 2I don’t think that you did this deliberately. I don’t think you were failing to tell the authorities where you were staying so that you could go out and commit offences.

“I don’t think that at all. This was a change in your circumstances because you were evicted.”

Kapambwe was made subject to an 18-month community order with 20 rehabilitation activity requirement days and 100 hours of unpaid work attached.