A SEX offender who kept his conviction hidden from a woman whose house he slept at has been given a suspended jail sentence.

Craig Thorpe slept over at the woman’s house four times without alerting police to his movements, Teesside Crown Court heard.

He was also in contact with her children on a number of occasions.

Thorpe, 24, who was locked up for two and-a-half years in 2009 after being convicted of four counts of sexual assault on a child, admitted four charges of failing to comply with his notification requirements.

He also pleaded guilty to two breaches of a sexual offences prevention order (sopo) he is subject to which bars him from having contact with children, unless he is supervised by an approved adult from a local authority.

Amy Dixon, for Thorpe, said he had wanted to give his relationship with the woman a chance before he revealed his previous conviction.

She said: “He accepts he did not inform her and he did spend some time at her address.”

Thorpe, of Downes Street, Liverton, east Cleveland, said he had never been left alone with the woman’s children nor did he have any sexual interest in them.

Ms Dixon said that while a custodial sentence was inevitable, it could be suspended on the food processing worker.

She said: “There are some deficits in his thinking skills and a suspended sentence order would allow him to address those issues with the probation service.”

Recorder Simon Phillips said Thorpe had deliberately tried to evade detection and he posed an ongoing risk to young children

However he decided he could suspend a jail sentence on him. Thorpe was given a 12 month jail sentence suspended for 18 months, a 12 month supervision order and the sopo was allowed to continue.