Registered sex offender from Northampton sent back to prison after failing to tell police about social media account

Simon Giles, previously of Northampton, appeared at Northampton Crown Court on August 27 for sentencing, after pleading guilty to two counts of breaching his Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) and one count of failing to comply with his notification requirements.

The 45-year-old was issued with a SHPO in June 2024, which placed him on the Sex Offenders’ Register.

The SHPO was issued with certain conditions he was required to abide by, including notifying the police of any social media usage, as well as not disposing of any internet devices without authorisation.

On June 3 this year, Northamptonshire Police was made aware that he had been using the social media platform Connected2, something he had failed to notify them of. He had also sold an iPad without permission.

Risk Management Officer Lucy Fraser-Allen, from the Force’s MOSOVO team, said: “Registered sex offenders are managed very closely by our team and any breach of their conditions, no matter how small, is dealt with robustly and with a zero-tolerance approach.

“Giles was well aware of the need to make us aware of any new social media usage or usernames, but he failed to do so and he has been shown the consequences as a result.

“It is our duty to protect the most vulnerable people in our society from people like Simon Giles and we will continue working hard to ensure that anyone else who breaches the terms of their SHPO is brought to justice.”

Giles was sentenced to 12 months in prison.