Cumbrian sex offender jailed after using secret phone to access indecent images of children

A Cumbrian registered sex offender who used an illegally held smart phone to access indecent images of children has been jailed for four years by a judge who said he had made “no attempt” to mend his ways.

Bruce Chandler, 57, was originally handed a suspended prison term by a judge at Newcastle Crown Court in 2021. Chandler had made sexual online advances to what he believed were young girls.

As a result of that conviction, Chandler was also made subject to a strict court order and requirements to curb his online use and allow the police to monitor his movements.

Earlier this year, police visited Chandler who told them he was not in possession of any prohibited devices capable of connecting to the internet. But during a further, unannounced home risk assessment visit a fortnight later, Chandler was seen trying to hide a smart phone.

“I’ve had it for over a year,” he confessed to police. “I know I shouldn’t have it. I thought I could get away with it. I lied about it the last time you were here.”

It emerged Chandler had used the phone from December, 2022 — 14 months into the two-year suspended prison sentence term — to access nine indecent images of children.

Chandler, of St Martin’s Close, Brampton, admitted seven offences. These were four breaches of a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO), possession of nine category C indecent images of children, possessing an extreme pornographic image and breaching sex offender notification requirements.

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