Stephen Pennington

Stephen Pennington, a 38-year-old registered sex offender from Botlon Road, Blackburn, was jailed for three years and nine months after breaching court-imposed restrictions designed to protect the public from his dangerous behaviour.

Pennington, previously convicted of child sex offences including the rape of a child, evaded police in Lancashire for several weeks. He fled Blackburn without permission from his offender manager and attempted to start a new life at an address in Bideford, Devon. Intelligence shared between Lancashire Police and Devon and Cornwall Police on 2 October 2025 led to his swift location and arrest within four hours of the report.

The breaches involved multiple offences, including using unregistered social media sites and failing to retain his internet history, in violation of his Sexual Harm Prevention Order. He was also charged with failure to comply with Sex Offender Notification Requirements. Following his arrest, Pennington was remanded in custody and sentenced at Exeter Crown Court on 26 March.

Sergeant Stuart Baker, from the North Devon MOSOVO (Management of Sexual and Violent Offenders) Team of Devon and Cornwall Police, welcomed the sentence, stating: "Our joint investigation and work with MOSOVO colleagues from Lancashire Police led to a swift arrest and charge of a very dangerous individual, removing him from the streets of North Devon. I hope this sentence sends the strongest possible message that police forces will collaborate across borders to monitor, manage and mitigate the risk posed by such persons, bringing them to justice when they fail to comply with the legal requirements of orders imposed by the courts."

PC Jessica Swallow, from the Lancashire Police MOSOVO Team, added: "Pennington is a dangerous individual with numerous convictions for breaching his requirements. In this instance he believed he could start a new life at the other end of the country and evade police management. He was wrong. I welcome the sentence he received in Exeter last week. This investigation is a fantastic example of two police forces working together to protect vulnerable people and send a registered sex offender back to prison."

The case highlights the effective collaboration between Devon and Cornwall Police and Lancashire Police in managing high-risk offenders across regional boundaries.