Convicted sex offender formerly of Burnley jailed after forming relationships with women with children

Robert Riley (32) of Morecambe was placed on the sex offenders register and given a sexual harm prevention order after being convicted of possession of indecent images of children in November 2020.

But he was sentenced last Thursday at Preston Crown Court to three years and 10 months in jail for four breaches of his sexual harm prevention order and four offences of failing to notify in relation to the sex offenders register. The prison term includes re-sentencing for his 2020 offence, for which he was initially given a community order.

DC Adam Weaver, of Lancashire Police’s West MOSOVO (Management of Sexual or Violent Offenders), said: “Robert Riley several times breached the orders and notification requirements which the court had placed on him.

“We monitor sexual offenders in the community and won’t hesitate to put them back before the courts if they breach and ignore the orders imposed.”

Riley formed relationships with three women with children in the space of four months. The women were unaware of his offending history and twice he used a different name when forming the relationships – the name was not registered with the police.

He stopped for more than 12 hours where children resided without notifying the police and stopped at another address for more than seven days in a 12-month period.

Riley attempted to hide the relationships from offender managers by deleting his internet history. He also failed to declare to police that he possessed an internet device.