A SEX offender who failed to comply with the terms of a suspended sentence order is paying the price, now serving a short stint behind bars.

Craig Gibson received an eight-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, at Durham Crown Court, on October 29, last year, having admitted making indecent images of children and possessing extreme pornography.

As part of the sentence the 20-year-old defendant, of Cumbrian Avenue, Chester-le-Street, was ordered to carry out 100 hours’ unpaid work and complete 40 rehabilitation activity days working with the Probation Service.

But he was back before the court having breached the order by failing to attend two of the probation appointments, one less than a month after the sentence was imposed and another early last month, although the unpaid work hours were completed in March.

The Northern Echo: Judge Ray Singh activates four months of sex offender's eight-month suspended sentence for failure to attend probation appointments Picture: THE NORTHERN ECHO Judge Ray Singh activates four months of sex offender's eight-month suspended sentence for failure to attend probation appointments Picture: THE NORTHERN ECHO

Uzma Khan, prosecuting, said the defendant cited work and health-related issues as the reasons for his absences, but there were two further breaches last month, after he lost his employment.

Tony Davis, for the defendant, said he was, “truly contrite” over the breaches, which he said were down to pressures of work.

Mr Davis added that Gibson accepted, “placing himself perilously close to incarceration”, and urged Judge Ray Singh to mark the breaches by, perhaps, adding further days to the order.

Read more: Ex-North East police inspector given suspended sentence for voyeurism

But Judge Singh said the defendant would have known that it was his choice to fulfil the various appointments to avoid activation of the prison sentence.

“These are deliberate decisions and choices you made knowing what the ramifications would be.

“The law is clear, in cases where suspended sentences are breached, the sentence must be activated unless it is unjust to do so.

“I’m afraid I find nothing Mr Davis has said, or in anything I have read, to find that it would be unjust.”

He, therefore, activated four months of the sentence, half of the eight months, to be served immediately, reflecting that the defendant did complete the unpaid work element of the sentence.

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