A “VULNERABLE” man previously jailed for attempting to meet someone he believed was a 14-year-old boy has received community service after failing to register his mobile phone with police.
Richard Alan Wavell appeared in Magistrate’s Court via video link on Tuesday after earlier admitting failing to register a mobile phone as required by the five-year sexual-offence restraining order imposed in 2018.
The court heard that Wavell had previously breached the order in 2020 and 2023 and was regarded as a “high-harm offender”.
Crown Advocate Peter Connick, prosecuting, said the order had been imposed to “protect the public” and that breaching it increased the risk to “innocent members of society”.
Advocate Stephen Wauchope, defending, described Wavell as a “vulnerable adult” with learning disabilities.
He said the failure to register the device was inadvertent and arose from Wavell’s “poor cognitive function”.
The court heard that there was no evidence the phone had been used to commit further offences and that Wavell had already spent two months in custody on remand.
Advocate Wauchope said returning Wavell to prison could jeopardise his “settled” accommodation.
Relief Magistrate David Cadin, presiding, took account of Wavell’s “limited reasoning and understanding” but said it was clear that he continued to present a “risk to the public”.
He said Wavell’s failure to recognise the seriousness of the breach was “concerning”, particularly as he had previously received both custodial and non-custodial sentences for breaching the order.
Wavell was sentenced to 130 hours of community service. The restraining order was extended until May 2031.
