Scarborough sex offender sent back to prison after deleting internet history

John Palethorpe, 52, was on prison licence and subject to a sexual-harm prevention order after serving a sentence for online sex offences when police called round at his home on a routine inspection visit, York Crown Court heard.

They found that Palethorpe had deleted chat or messenger apps on his phone, as well as “several Youtube histories”, all of which were in breach of the order, said prosecutor Brooke Morrison.

He also failed to notify police that he had set up new internet accounts, she added.

Palethorpe, of Mount View Close, Scarborough, admitted breaching the sexual-harm order and the notification requirements and appeared for sentence on Wednesday, April 5.

Ms Morrison said Palethorpe had previous convictions including attempted sexual communication with a 12-year-old girl, attempting to cause a child to engage in sexual activity and attempting to cause a child to watch a sexual act, which resulted in a jail sentence in December 2020 and the imposition of the sexual-harm order and notification requirements.

On that occasion, Palethorpe was snared by online “paedophile hunters” posing as children.

Palethorpe, who is married, tried to teach the ‘girl’ how to perform a sexual act on herself and told ‘her’ he wanted to meet her.

Police monitoring officers kept a check on Palethorpe’s internet activities after he was released from jail on licence.

They made an unannounced visit to Palethorpe’s home last year and found that he had deleted the KIK messenger app, a Google chat app and “several Youtube histories”.

Officers also found two internet accounts, one under an alias, which Palethorpe hadn’t notified them about, which was in breach of his notification requirements.

In a pre-sentence report by the Probation Service, Palethorpe was described as a “high-risk offender”.

His solicitor advocate David Camidge said Palethorpe was gripped by “substance and alcohol misuse” at the time of the offences.

He was now seeking help for his problems with mental-health and substance-abuse agencies in Scarborough.

Judge Simon Hickey said he had noted a probation officer’s assertion that Palethorpe had engaged in “confessing and avoiding, trying to downplay these offences”.

He told Palethorpe: “Appropriate punishment can only be achieved by immediate custody because in my judgement you present a danger to the public.”

Palethorpe was handed a 10-month jail sentence.

He will serve half of that sentence behind bars before being released on prison licence.