Northumbria PoliceA convicted paedophile who breached court orders while trying to hide his criminal past from his new girlfriend has been jailed for two years and eight months.
Gary Chitticks, 41, did not tell police about where he was living after moving to Wearside from Bournemouth for a new relationship, Newcastle Crown Court heard.
He also failed to register a new mobile phone which he should have done as part of an order made when he was jailed in 2021 for attempting to meet what he thought was a child for sex.
He admitted six new offences relating to breaching court orders.
Chitticks was jailed in Bournemouth for four years in 2021 after admitting attempting to engage in sexual communications with a child, prosecutor Ian Windridge said.
He had been messaging a decoy profile and suggested meeting up for sexual activity, the court heard.
History deleted
Lifelong orders were made requiring Chitticks to notify police about where he was living, known as signing the sex offender register, and register any new internet-enabled devices with the force, the prosecutor said.
New devices also had to be set to retain their internet search histories.
In July this year, Chitticks phoned Northumbria Police to say he was homeless and sleeping rough in Hetton-le-Hole, Sunderland, Mr Windridge said.
Officers tracked down a mobile number linked to Chitticks which led them to a woman living in the Houghton-le-Spring area.
She told police their pair had started dating in May, the court heard.
The woman said they had spent a week together at a hotel in Bournemouth and he had then moved in with her, actions which Chitticks should have informed police about.
When he was arrested in August, police found an unregistered mobile phone being used by Chitticks which had been set up to automatically delete its search history and a bank card under an alias name of Dave Chambers, Mr Windridge said.
In mitigation, Claire Anderson said Chitticks had “allowed his heart to rule his head” and the breaches were made as he sought to protect his burgeoning relationship with the woman.
Judge Gavin Doig said Chitticks, who had also been jailed for exposing himself since his 2021 conviction, had “clearly sought to hide the truth” from the woman and the breaches were “serious”.
He said the terms of the court orders were “simply non-negotiable” and Chitticks presented “far too high a risk” to the public for them “to be treated with anything but absolute seriousness”.