A convicted sex offender is back behind bars after he twice breached a court order to curb his behaviour.
Mark Robinson’s latest criminal behaviour was discovered during a routine check on his home and electronic devices just weeks after it was imposed.
The 43-year-old’s iPhone was inspected by a specialist police officer who discovered how a large portion of its battery use had been taken up by his Tinder app download which had been later deleted.
The officer also discovered how the sex offender had downloaded a virtual private network (VPN) in August this year which had also been deleted.
Teesside Crown Court heard how the defendant had been jailed for downloading child abuse images and was made the subject of a sexual risk order to bar him from deleting his internet history or using certain online apps.
Jon Harley, prosecuting, said the defendant had prior convictions for downloading child abuse images, breaching his sexual harm prevention order and his notification requirement order by using aliases and encryption software.
Robinson, of York Road, Hartlepool, pleaded guilty to two breaches of his sexual risk order.
Stephen Constantine, mitigating, said: “The Tinder app was used for its proper use to find a relationship from the use of that app.
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“Not surprisingly, he is somebody with no friends who relies on heavily on his family and things are very shaky as far as that is concerned.”
Recorder Richard Wright KC sentenced Robinson to two years for the breaches after hearing he had already been recalled to prison on licence.
He added: “These guilty pleas are part of a pattern of committing internet-based offences against children by downloading indecent images or failing to comply with orders put in place by the courts.
“The fact that you have persistently failed to comply with those orders is a cause for concern to the court.”
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