Liam Michael West

Liam Michael West, 42, of Osborne House, Horden, appeared before Durham Crown Court after being recalled to prison for attempting to persuade a woman to withdraw her police statement against another registered sex offender.

West had previously received a 14-year sentence in 2017 for two sexual assaults on a girl under 13 and was made subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO). A term of the SHPO prohibited him from having contact with other registered sex offenders.

On 8 April this year, West was stopped by police while driving a vehicle containing another registered sex offender as a passenger. He failed to provide police with the PIN code for a phone found in the car and later admitted to messaging the woman with whom the other sex offender had been living, putting her under pressure to withdraw her statement.

Prosecutor Annelise Haugstad told the court that West made no comment in police interview but subsequently admitted doing acts tending or intended to pervert the course of justice and breaching his SHPO.

In mitigation, Tyler Plunkett said there was “nothing nefarious” about West’s contact with the other sex offender, explaining they knew each other from prison and were supportive of each other when released on licence. He added that the phone belonged to the other man and that West’s recall to prison had triggered previous mental health difficulties.

Recorder Mark McKone sentenced West to a total of 20 months in prison, which will only begin when his prison recall period ends. The Recorder noted that the messaging put the woman under pressure and that failing to provide the phone PIN meant police were unable to check if further offences had been committed.