William Gardner

William Gardner, a 51-year-old man from North Shields, Tyne and Wear, was jailed for two years at Newcastle Crown Court after pleading guilty to breaching a sexual harm prevention order and sex offender notification requirements. Gardner had been subject to these orders since 2021, following a 32-month prison sentence for causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and attempting to have sexual communication with a child. The breaches came to light during a routine risk review at a police station on 6 March 2023, when officers examined his phone and discovered evidence of his undisclosed relationship with a woman who has children.

The court heard that Gardner had deleted messages related to the relationship in an attempt to hide it from authorities. The woman, unaware of Gardner's criminal history, later confirmed that he had stayed overnight at her home—where her children resided—five or six times and had spent time with her while the children were present. This posed a significant risk, given Gardner's 'predilection for contacting young girls', as described by Recorder Chris Knox during sentencing.

Further investigation revealed that Gardner had been using an alias on Facebook and had communicated with a 14-year-old girl on social media, exacerbating the severity of his breaches. Recorder Knox remarked, 'You understood perfectly clearly you had to act in accordance with the sexual harm prevention order that had been in place in relation to you for a long time. You understand this perfectly well, you are not an unintelligent man. I understand what you wanted to do was be normal and not warn her about your background. The fact is you've got that history, it's your fault, you've done it and you've got to live with it.'

Defending Gardner, Ian Cook argued that his client sought to 'normalise his life' after losing his job as a delivery driver due to police notifying his employer of his prior offences. Cook noted Gardner's remorse, stating, 'He is very remorseful about the offending which led to these orders being imposed in the first place and he is very remorseful about the impact these current offences have had on the lady he started a relationship with.' He added that Gardner had fallen in love quickly and that mental health issues and family bereavements had contributed to his low state at the time. The case was reported by Chronicle Live, with court proceedings held at Newcastle Crown Court in April 2026.