Colchester: Child protection team ensure repeat offender is jailed for online crimes
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A convicted child sex offender is back behind bars after officers were alerted to his online offending.
Lee Arthurs was the subject of strict restrictions via his Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) when he was arrested at an address in Essex.
In March, the 41-year-old was dog-sitting for family in Colchester when he accessed various online chat platforms and attempted to engage in sexual communication with children.
He was swiftly arrested and an interrogation of his device revealed further chats and indecent images of children.
Arthurs, of Silk Street, Ipswich, was charged with three counts of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child, three counts of making indecent images of children and four breaches of his SHPO.
He was immediately recalled to prison for the breaches.
He appeared at Chelmsford Crown Court in April and admitted the offences. He was sentenced there on 5 June to a total of five years imprisonment.
Detective Sergeant Gavin Tuck said:
Arthurs showed an absolute disregard of the law and started re-offending when he was released from prison.
His abhorrent crimes were identified by specialist teams and he was detained. He poses a significant threat to children, and it is right that he is now behind bars for a significant time.
Protecting children from these types of offenders is a priority for us at Essex Police. We continue to be vigilant, rigorously monitor those on licence, and will act swiftly.
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Keeping your child safe online is not always an easy task. New technology, regular updates or upgrades can change how things work, sometimes making it difficult to keep up.
So, to help, we have put together some simple things you can do to make your child’s online devices safer.
Visit our Sort your settings page to find out how.
Victims' code
At Essex Police we put victims at the heart of everything we do. The Victims’ Code explains the rights that everyone can expect to receive as a victim of crime, and helps us define what we must do for all victims from their initial contact with our force until the conclusion of their case.
Find out more about the code and to understand the rights of a victim of crime, on our support for victims and witnesses of crime page.
To report a crime, please use our digital 101 service. In an emergency call 999.