A paedophile was jailed after breaching a court by downloading Snapchat onto his phone. He had been banned from using the app after committing sex offences against children.
Robert Mellon, 54, of Newport was convicted of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and was sentenced to a community order. He was made subject to a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) which required his electronic items to be monitored and banned him from using software which would delete internet history.
A sentencing hearing at Cardiff Crown Court heard officers attended Mellon's new home in Church Road at 11am on January 11. They asked to look at the defendant's Samsung phone but when they searched the device they discovered the Snapchat app had been downloaded.
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Prosecutor Tabitha Walker told the court Mellon was prohibited from using Snapchat as it does not record its history of use and content. The defendant said he used the app to speak to his sisters and claimed he was unaware the use of it constituted a breach of the order.
He was arrested the next day and made full admissions to the offence in his police interview. Mellon later pleaded guilty to breaching a SHPO on the basis he was unaware Snapchat was banned under the order. The defendant has 15 previous convictions including a past breach of the SHPO. Gareth Williams, mitigating, said his client's breach amounted to the "innocent use of an app millions of people use every day".
Sentencing, Judge Tracey Lloyd-Clarke said: "You have a significant history of sexual offending and persistently breach court orders designed to stop your offending." She handed Mellon a 16-month jail term of which he will serve half in custody before being released on licence.
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