A registered sex offender, who breached a sexual harm prevention order by trying to volunteer at a local charity, has been jailed for three years and seven months.
Bruce Thomas Wayne, formerly known as Andrew Phillips, was arrested in March after concerns were raised to the police about his involvement with a community charity in Calne.
Due to a conviction for a child sex offence in 2010 in Newcastle, paired with more recent concerns relating to his sexual behaviour by Dorset Police, Wayne was made subject to a standalone sexual harm prevention order in October 2020.
It specified that he was not allowed to engage in voluntary employment or work without informing his offender manager, nor was he allowed to engage or seek to engage in any form of support group for children or adults.
READ MORE: 'Bruce Wayne' breached sexual harm prevention order by volunteering in Calne
Despite this, he had taken steps to become a volunteer at the charity, which provided support for people aged 14 to 70 and failed to notify his offender manager. Wayne took on various roles with the charity over a three-month period such as being their fire marshall and health and safety officer.
However, the trustees only allowed him to volunteer on a supervised basis while they waited for DBS clearance, and the alarm was raised when someone recognised him from an online news story about his previous conviction.
Wayne, of Thames Street, Lechlade, who was convicted of one count of breaching a sexual harm prevention order, appeared at Swindon Crown Court yesterday (July 28) and was jailed for three years and seven months.
PC Sarah Greenman, from Wiltshire Police’s Offender Management Unit, said: “Wayne tried to claim that he had misunderstood the terms of his order, but the case went for a Newton Hearing and the Judge rejected this claim, finding that what he was actually doing was trying to gain access to vulnerable teenagers.
“It is clear that Wayne is a calculating and predatory offender, who tried to find a way around the order which was put in place to protect the public.
“Thankfully, the charity involved acted in a responsible way, only allowing him to volunteer while supervised while they waited for the necessary checks to be done, and then alerting the police when they became suspicious of him.
“Registered sex offenders are subject to regular monitoring by the police and I hope this case provides reassurance that if and when they try to breach any restrictions that are in place, then they are dealt with robustly by the police and the courts.”
To find out more about the Child Sex Offender Disclosure Scheme (CSODS), also known as Sarah’s Law, please go to: https://www.wiltshire.police.uk/rqo/request/ri/request-information/sarahs-law-beta/sarahs-law-child-sex-offender-disclosure-scheme/ask-police-for-information-child-sexual-offences/
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here