A SEX offender is now serving time behind bars for his ‘flagrant disregard for court orders’.

Paul Roberts was hauled before the courts for failing to abide by the terms of his sex offender registration requirements.

The 39-year-old was told that the level of risk he poses was one of the reasons why magistrates felt that anything other than immediate imprisonment was inappropriate.

Roberts, of no fixed abode, appeared before Crewe Magistrates’ Court on Monday, September 5 after being charged with breaching his sex offenders register requirements.

Jenna Cooney, prosecuting, explained how the defendant was made subject to the requirements following conviction of a sex offence.

Such requirements allow authorities to keep track of the activities of sex offenders, including those who have completed their criminal sentences.

Roberts was found to have breached his requirements between August 17 and 27 by failing, ‘without reasonable excuse’ to notify authorities that he was staying at a Warrington address other than one he was approved to do so for seven days or more.

Magistrates took his guilty plea into account, however they remarked that the offence was ‘so serious’ that only a custodial sentence could be justified

They also said that the defendant has a ‘flagrant disregard for court orders’, committed the offence while subject to post-sentence supervision and due to the level of risk he poses.

Roberts was sentenced to 26 weeks in prison and ordered to pay a surcharge to fund victim services of £154.