A homeless sexual offender ‘feels safer in prison’ than the streets of Oxford due to his previous convictions, a court has heard.

Steven James, 29, was first convicted in 2017 and placed on the sex offenders register for attempting to cause of incite a child to engage in penetrative activity.

Since then, the defendant has been back in court several times for breaching the notification requirements of the sex offenders registers and terms of his Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

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His most recent breach, failing to update police on his address from June to August this year, landed him back in Oxford Crown Court for sentencing on Thursday (October 3).

He was caught sleeping under a bridge in Bournemouth after failing to keep police updated on his whereabouts after prison.

James told his barrister he had left Oxford because he does not feel safe which is why he breached the order.

He was jailed for eight months by Recorder Jaron Crooknorth.

During the hearing, it was heard that Hames had been released from a custodial sentence he was handed in January this year for possession of a mobile phone in June.

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He allegedly told the probation services that he wanted to move to Bournemouth due to feeling unsafe in Oxford.

James claims he had been attacked and that rumours were being passed around that he had raped a child.

The court heard that James felt he was ‘not getting enough support’ from the probation services and decided to leave on his own accord.

He made full admissions when police arrested him in August.

The court heard that James, of no fixed abode, has 11 convictions for 20 offences – including four breaches.

His most recent was in January this year when he was jailed for 36 weeks by Judge Nigel Daly. The judge commented that he hoped James would receive the help he needed upon release.

His defence barrister told the court that James understands ‘it was the wrong thing to do’ but he ‘felt like he had no other choice’.

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She said: “The [pre-sentence] report isn’t overly positive, it does suggest custody, and he said he would rather be in custody than released into Oxford as he feels safer in prison.

“Sometimes [his demeaner] comes across as defiance but in my submission, it is desperation, desperation to get away from the area and desperation to start a new life.”

Concluding the sentencing, Recorder Crooknorth said: “I’m disturbed by your attitudes to prison. I hope at some time that you can break this cycle.”