Sex offender 'found working in Cardiff cinema'

The married sex offender hid in a store cupboard and the toilets at Cineworld, the court heard

A sex offender who allegedly went on the run after flouting a court order was caught working in a cinema under a false name, magistrates have heard.

Thousands of indecent images were found on Matthew Newman's phone when the 34-year-old was found at a Cardiff cinema, Cheltenham Magistrates' Court was told.

Mr Newman, from Gloucester, hid in a store cupboard and the toilets when police found him working in Cineworld.

His lawyer told the court Mr Newman would deny "some of the allegations".

Magistrates heard the married cinema worker was caught on Tuesday using the name Jonas Carter - and Mr Newman had forged a birth certificate to back his false identity and gave officers a fake address.

Mr Newman had been due to appear before Gloucester Crown Court in September accused of failing to comply with the terms of a sentence he received for having indecent images of children.

He is subject to a sexual harm prevention order, which bars him from having contact with children, and had allegedly failed to keep in touch with his probation officer.

Magistrates heard Mr Newman had "disregarded court orders" and his sexual harm prevention order

"When he was found at the cinema by the police following a tip-off, he locked himself in a store cupboard and then a toilet before trying to run away from the officers," prosecutor Jeremy Oliver told the court.

He added: "When the police made an initial examination of his phone they discovered that there were tens of thousands of images on it, many of them believed to be indecent images of children."

The case was sent to Gloucester Crown Court for a hearing on 12 March and Mr Newman was remanded in custody.

The court heard he will face at least 14 new charges at crown court, including possessing indecent images of children, fraudulently creating a birth certificate and possessing cannabis.