A SEX offender who failed to declare email addresses to police has been spared jail – after his defence solicitor said he would be at risk of "considerable harm" in prison.

Ian Jackson, 37, of Main Street, Egremont, is required to notify police of any names or aliases he uses, as part of a sexual harm prevention order that was put in place in 2016.

But a number of usernames were found after police inspected his laptop in November last year, Workington Magistrates’ Court was told.

Prosecutor Pamela Fee told the court that Jackson was a registered sex offender, who was currently being managed in the community.

During police interview, Jackson stated he had not used some of the email addresses for some time. He said he had recently used one of the usernames for his betting account.

Jackson agreed his sexual harm prevention order had been in place since 2016 and he was fully aware of this.

He agreed his offender manager had explained the terms of this order and had gone through them on a number of occasions.

Jackson was asked about any email addresses he used and he said he needed a separate email address for Universal Credit. 

The defendant had also used his father’s email address and was asked why he had done this. Jackson said he couldn’t remember as it was a long time ago.

He was asked if he had a betting account and said he had a Coral account but wasn’t sure what the login was.

Jackson said a lot of the accounts hadn’t been used in years.

He was told he had an obligation to notify police of any accounts used. He said he didn’t mean to keep the information from police.

Ms Fee said Jackson had left his previous employment at David Wood Baking Ltd at Lillyhall and hadn’t informed police for a month. He had then sent a text to inform police he was on Universal Credit.

She said police also had concerns as he had refused to take part in a polygraph test.

Ms Fee described the offence as a 'deliberate refusal' to comply with the order.

She said: “It isn’t a minor breach. There are a number of email accounts not provided to police. Clearly, the defendant has kept these for a period of time.

“It’s a substantial period where contact could have been made or offending behaviour could have taken place.”

Chris Toms, defending, said: “When interviewed by police, there were no denials. He handed over his device when requested.”

Mr Toms said one of the email addresses was for The Outward Bound Trust, which he had not worked for since his conviction in 2016. Another was for the betting site, Coral.

He said Jackson had used his father’s account and didn’t realise this constituted using an identity.

Mr Toms said: “This is a man who is vulnerable. He will be vulnerable in prison. Considerable harm could be done to him if he is sent to prison.

“These orders pull you out of society. He is by trade a chef. Many establishments employ young people. He can no longer carry out his trade.

“If he goes to custody, he will come out a complete mess and will be more at risk of offending than he is now.”

Jackson pleaded to failing to comply with notification requirements of the sex offenders’ register between March 2016 and November 2022, at a hearing earlier this month.

Passing sentence on Monday, magistrates said there was a “realistic prospect of rehabilitation”.

Jackson was sentenced to 36 weeks in prison, suspended for 18 months. He must also complete 20 rehabilitation activity requirement days.

READ MORE: Egremont sex offender failed to declare alias names to police