A CONVICTED sex-offender who breached a court order has been jailed.

Sanjoy Rajput, 53, will spend 18 months behind bars after he broke a number of rules relating to a sexual harm prevention order.

The order was put in place to restrict his use of devices which has access to the internet.

Officers from the Management of Sexual Offenders and Violent Offenders team (MOSOVO) carried out an unannounced visit to Rajput's home in Harebell Drive, Witham, on September 23.

They found a mobile phone inside the property which he was not allowed under his prevention order.

A subsequent investigation also found Rajput had acquired a new credit card which he was meant to have informed authorities about.

He was arrested and later charged with breaching his prevention order and five counts of failing to comply with the notification requirements of the sexual offenders register, which included the use of an alias name to groom young females online.

Rajput admitted the offences at Chelmsford Crown Court on October 22 and was handed jail time at the same court last week.

After sentencing, Det Insp Nathan Hutchinson, who leads the MOSOVO team in north Essex, 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 targets the county’s most dangerous sexual and violent offenders and is part of a nationwide multi agency process which aims to reduce re-offending.

Its 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.

If you have any concerns about a sexual or violent offender in your area you can request information via essex.police.uk/rqo/request/ri/request-information.