Sex offender found hiding in wardrobe (From The Northern Echo)

Sex offender found hiding in wardrobe

10:18am Wednesday 17th March 2010 in

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A SEX offender was caught hiding in the wardrobe at his girlfriend’s flat after he failed to tell police he had moved in with her, a court has heard.

After making it past a bull mastiff belonging to his girlfriend, Samantha Turnbull, officers eventually discovered Steven Lumley in the bedroom wardrobe of her home, Darlington Magistates’ Court heard yesterday.

Lumley, 24, was convicted of attempted rape and indecent assault in 2002 and required to register as a sex offender on his release from prison.

He had been living in Epsom Court, on the Red Hall estate in Darlington, for five weeks without registering the address, the court heard.

Sex offenders are supposed to inform police when they move house within three days.

Stuart Allison, prosecuting, said the offence was aggravated by the attempt to conceal Lumley in the wardrobe and the length of time he had been living there.

He said Ms Turnbull had told officers she was the flat’s only occupant when they visited after receiving a tip-off Lumley was living there, but became evasive when they asked to search the property.

“(She told) them the bedroom was occupied by her bull mastiff and it would bite them,” he said. “When an officer opened the door, he found a bull mastiff, which growled at him.”

The police contacted Darlington Borough Council’s dog warden to secure the dog and allow them access to the bedroom – but Ms Turnbull refused to let the warden in.

Eventually, a friend of Ms Turnbull’s was contacted and secured the dog. Officers found Lumley in the wardrobe and he was arrested.

Mr Allison added: “He (Lumley) said he didn’t know why he had to tell police where he was living as he wasn’t a bad rapist or he would be out doing it all the time.”

Clive Booth, mitigating, said the defendant had experienced problems with education and may not have fully understood the requirement of registering new addresses.

“He pleaded not guilty to the original offence and has never admitted any guilt,”

said Mr Booth.

He said at the time of the offence, Lumley was of no fixed abode after being asked to leave his aunt’s house, and was staying at Ms Turnbull’s flat a few times a week.

He said Lumley was not trying to evade the police by failing to register.

“In his mind, he hadn’t formulated that this address was his home,” said Mr Booth.

Lumley, pleaded guilty to failing to comply with notification requirements of the sexual offenders’ register. He will be sentenced at a date to be fixed at Teesside Crown Court.