Repeat child sex offender jailed for girl chat
A judge said James Harbertson had an "appalling record" of sexual interest in children
- Published
A man who has been repeatedly convicted of child sex offences has been jailed again for sending a 15-year-old girl "abhorrent" messages.
James Harbertson, 34, who was previously jailed for nine years for sexually abusing a child, used the handle GeordieBoyJames when he tried to elicit girls to perform sex acts online in 2022, Newcastle Crown Court heard.
After he was jailed for 32 months for offences against four girls aged 14 and 15, police found SnapChat messages to a 15-year-old on a mobile.
Harbertson, of no fixed abode, admitted attempting to engage in sexual communications with a child and breaching a sexual offences prevention order (SOPO) made in 2013, and was jailed for four months.
'Dangerous' offender
Judge Tim Gittins said Harbertson had an "appalling record for being interested sexually in children".
Harbertson's first offence was in 2012 when he was given a community order for possessing indecent images of children.
The following year, he was deemed a "dangerous" offender and jailed for nine years for multiple counts of sexually abusing a child, for which he was also made subject of a SOPO for an indefinite period of time.
That order banned Hartbertson from having any contact with a child under 16 or deleting any logs of his internet activity.
In 2022, police seized a number of phones and found he had been messaging several girls between April and August who were "clearly under the age of 16" on SnapChat, which was a breach of his SOPO.
He had also deleted multiple SnapChat messages, which was another breach, and he was jailed for 32 months.
While he was incarcerated at HMP Durham, police found a further illegal chat Harbertson had had with a 15-year-old girl in June 2022, in which he said he wanted to perform sex acts on her.
Judge Gittins said the girl had never been identified but she "could have a been very vulnerable young girl" and the chat was "abhorrent".
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