Jail for South Shields pervert who breached sex offender order in bid to “ruin young lives”
Court told offender had previously stolen women’s Facebook photos to set up fake escort profiles and taken photographs of himself sexually assaulting a woman he met on a dating site.
A pervert who joined social media sites and used an alias name in a bid to "ruin young lives" while out on licence for sex offences has been put back behind bars.
Gavin Gray had been released from an eight-year prison sentence for serious sex offences just four months before police visited his home and discovered his illegal activity.
He claimed he was secretly joining social media sites in a bid to be less lonely but a judge rejected his claim and said his motivation was to access young people.
Newcastle Crown Court heard because Gray is on the sex offenders register and has a sexual harm prevention order for life, he is banned from setting up new online accounts, downloading encryption services or using different names without notifying the authorities.
It was when officers examined his Motorola phone in August they discovered he had used encryption, was on "multiple" social media platforms, which he had not declared and he had used a fake name on his TikTok account.
Gray, 48, of Beach Road, South Shields, admitted six breaches of his sexual harm prevention order and one of failing to comply with notification requirements.
Mark Harrison, defending, told the court: "He has an isolated and lonely existence.
"His use of the mobile device was in order to access dating sites and the like in order to make his life less lonely."
Mr Harrison said no illegal images or conversations were found on the device.
Recorder Nathan Moxon said he rejected the explanation that Gray was simply trying to be less lonely and told him: "If that was the case, you would have registered it with the police and had no need to download encryption.
"Your decision no doubt was designed to give you access to vulnerable young people as you have done in the past and give you the opportunity to ruin young lives."
Gray was sentenced to 22 months behind bars.
The court heard it was in 2021 he was jailed for eight years for attempting to have sexual communications with a child, sending malicious communications, having sexual communications with a child, inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity and two sexual assaults.
Gray had stolen women’s Facebook photos to set up fake escort profiles and taken photographs of himself sexually assaulting a woman he met on a dating site.