Doncaster sex offender jailed after breaching Sexual Harm Prevention Order

A registered child sex offender has been put behind bars after breaching the terms of his Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO).

Leslie Thornton, aged 30, formerly of the Balby area of Doncaster, was convicted of multiple child sexual offences and child abduction in 2015.

He was jailed for three years and made subject to a SHPO and notification requirements that ordered him to notify his personal details with the police every 12 months.

The terms of Thornton's SHPO prevented him from having contact with any children, but an investigation into his phone records found evidence of him making contact with a young girl - something he had failed to disclose to officers from Doncaster's Violent Sexual Offender Registrar (ViSOR) unit.

He later pleaded guilty to breaching his SHPO and two counts of failing to comply with notification requirements.

Throughout 2022, Thornton failed to comply with the notification requirements given upon his previous sentences.

Last Wednesday (24 January), Thornton was jailed for three years and seven months at Sheffield Crown Court.

Thanasis Fourlis, from Doncaster's ViSOR unit, said: "Sexual Harm Prevention Orders are pivotal in monitoring the behaviour of registered sex offenders, and the courts take breaches of these orders very seriously.

"Thornton knew he had breached the terms of his order but decided not to tell us until we carried out further enquiries into his phone records.

"He is now back behind bars after a lengthy police investigation spanning nearly 18 months and I hope this sentence serves as a stern reminder to other offenders with SHPOs about the consequences of breaching them."