Sanjoy Rajput had been subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) which restricted his use of devices with internet access.
However, when officers from the Management of Sexual Offenders and Violent Offenders team (MOSOVO) carried out an unannounced visit to his home in Harebell Drive, Witham on 23 September they identified he had a mobile phone he was not meant to have breaching his SHPO.
When investigating further, our officers also found he had recently acquired a new credit card which he was meant to have informed authorities about under the requirements of the Sexual Offences Act 2003.
Fifty-three year-old Rajput was arrested and later charged with breaching a sexual harm prevention order and five counts of failing to comply with the notification requirements of the sexual offenders register, which included the use of alias name to groom young females online.
He pleaded guilty to the offences at Chelmsford Crown Court on 22 October and at the same court on 27 November he was sentenced to 18 months in prison.
Detective Inspector Nathan Hutchinson, who leads the MOSOVO team in the north of the county, said: “This investigation is another example of the work MOSOVO does to protect the public from Sex Offenders and keep them safe.
“We regularly carry out visits to the homes of registered sex offenders in our communities to ensure they’re complying with the orders and requirements put upon them to reduce their risk to the public.
“In most cases we find that they do, but where they are failing to comply, this proactive work by officers identifies the offending and ensures they’re put before a court.
“Many people around the county will not think, or want to think, about the possibility of a registered sex offender living in their community but I hope the fact there is a professional, specially trained, and dedicated set of officers and staff managing the risk they pose will be reassuring.”
MOSOVO helps to protect the public from some of the county’s most dangerous sexual and violent offenders and are an integral part of the nationwide multi agency MAPPA process which aims to reduce re-offending.
This work includes monitoring and risk assessing of offenders prior to, and after, their release from prison to reduce the risk they pose.
The highly trained, plain clothes MOSOVO teams work away from the public gaze are vital to keeping the public safe from Registered Sexual and Violent Offenders.