A MAN from Bangor has been spared jail despite committing four breaches of his sexual harm prevention order (SHPO).

Richard Williams, 62, of Llys Dewi Sant, was sentenced to 24 weeks’ imprisonment, suspended for 12 months, at Caernarfon Crown Court today (June 11).

He had previously admitted four counts of breaching a SHPO.

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Prosecuting, Elen Owen told the court that Williams was issued with an indefinite SHPO in 2019 after being convicted of sexual offences.

When his mobile phone was checked by officers last summer, he was found to have breached the order by having installed – and then uninstalled – the social media applications TikTok, Telegram and Snapchat.

Williams had also deleted his internet history in relation to TikTok.

Ms Owen said a “significant volume of internet activity deletions” were discovered by police upon inspection of his phone.

Defending Williams, Oliver King said there was “no evidence of anything indecent on his phone” when it was checked.

Mr King described Williams as a “lonely man” with “very few friends”, who downloaded TikTok “simply because it was something to watch”, before deleting it when it occurred to him that it could place him in breach of the SHPO.

“He just didn’t think,” Mr King said, adding that this was Williams’ first breach of the order.

The messages he had exchanged on Telegram, meanwhile, revealed “nothing inappropriate”, either.

Sentencing, Judge Timothy Petts also ordered Williams to complete 20 days’ rehabilitation activity requirements and 100 hours’ unpaid work.

A deprivation order was made in respect of Williams’ phone, while the defendant will pay a statutory surcharge.

“The prospect of rehabilitation outweighs the need for immediate custody, particularly in the current prison circumstances,” Judge Petts told Williams.

“(But) for the next 12 months, you’ve got this prison sentence hanging over you.”