Sex offender jailed after he rented spare room to Northampton dad with two young kids

An unsuspecting dad had his two young kids stay with him in a Northampton house without knowing he was renting the room from a registered sex offender.

Lewis Garraway, aged 23, was jailed for breaking a sexual harm prevention order by not telling police whenever he was in close proximity to any child for more than 12 hours.

Northampton Crown Court heard Garraway had rented out a room in his house in Blackthorn in January 2021 to a father who often had his young children around to stay.

The father had no idea that Garraway was a registered sex offender.

Police discovered the situation through a routine check and Garraway was immediately charged with failing to comply with his notification requirements.

Following the charges, Garraway failed to attend his police bail appointments on a number of occasions and also failed to appear at court for his first hearing. He was eventually sentenced to two years and two months in prison for the offences.

Lead investigator, PC James Brookes from the Northamptonshire Police Managing Sexual Offenders and Violent Offenders team, said: “Garraway showed a complete disregard and lack of respect for the very strict notification requirements he is rightly expected to abide by so I am pleased that he has been handed a prison sentence as a result.

“We take an absolute zero-tolerance approach to situations like this and there is no room for manoeuvre or second chances.

"Our job is to protect the public and we will immediately look to charge a registered sex offender if they breach any of their conditions.

“Garraway’s arrogance towards the investigation shows the kind of person he is and I hope his time in prison allows him to fully grasp the reasons he needs to abide by his requirements in the future.”