A convicted rapist breached his sexual offence prevention order by deleting apps for Snapchat and dating site ‘Cuddle’.
Christian Williamson, 33, who in 2005 was handed an extended jail sentence for raping a woman, pleaded guilty to the single offence of breaching the order when he appeared before Oxford Magistrates’ Court.
He then begged the justices to give him a curfew when they decided to remand the sex offender – described by prosecutor Nony Umenyiora as a ‘violent, dangerous sexual predator – in custody until his sentencing at Oxford Crown Court on April 19.
Earlier, the court heard that the police were called out to the home of Williamson’s partner in Wallingford on Valentine’s Day over concerns for the woman’s welfare.
The officers saw the defendant had a number of applications on his phone, including for Facebook, Snapchat and dating site Cuddle.
Specialist police officers from Thames Valley’s public protection department, tasked with monitoring the sex offender, returned to the property on March 1.
Williamson was out but he’d left his phone in the property. His partner, who answered the door, handed the phone over to the officers.
They could see that the defendant had deleted the apps that had been seen on the mobile a fortnight earlier.
By deleting the apps – and any web history stored on them – he was in breach of a sexual offence prevention order imposed at Manchester Crown Court in 2014 for inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.
Ms Umenyiora told the justices that Williamson’s record of sexual offending dated back to 2005, when he was convicted of raping a woman over 16.
Since then, he had been in court several times for breaching various court orders aimed at preventing him from committing sex crimes.
Mitigating, Jayne Wilkinson said her client had deleted the apps as they were causing arguments between him and his partner.
“I can’t see where the harm is. There is no suggestion he was using the apps to commit any offences.”
Williamson had tried to do ‘what he thought was the right thing’. However, by deleting the apps he’d deleted the internet history – a breach of the court order.
Ms Wilkinson said her client planned to return to Hull, where he had a home, support worker and a psychologist.
The defendant, of Albemarle Street, Hull, pleaded guilty to breach of a sexual offence prevention order.
He appeared in court via video link from Abingdon police station wearing a blue surgical facemask and a California Golden Bears American football team jumper.
The justices remanded him in custody until April 19, when he is due before the crown court.
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