Disgraced former councillor breached sex offence order
A DISGRACED former councillor has admitted breaching a sexual offences order.
Simon Carter was handed a threeyear community order after being convicted of making indecent images of children back in 2015.
Carter, a former Labour councillor on Bury council, was also made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order which restricted his use of devices with internet access.
The 58-year-old was sentenced at Bolton Crown Court after admitting breaching his order by failing to disclose a laptop that he owned to police.
Prosecuting, Craig MacGregor, told the court that police officers had visited
Carter’s home in Wigan on September 2 to carry out an inspection of his devices.
Despite claiming he only owned a Samsung mobile phone, which police were already aware of, a dongle was discovered inside his flat.
After being arrested, Carter admitted to owning a HP laptop which he kept hidden inside a cupboard at his flat.
The court heard that the device had been used on three days in March 2019, but no evidence was found of any indecent images of children on it.
Carter told police he had owned the laptop for 18 months after being given it by a friend. He admitted using it ‘a couple of times’ and trying to access the internet through the dongle.
He added that it was ‘stupid’ of him not to have told police about the device.
The court heard when Carter’s home was searched in 2015, police found indecent images of young girls which he admitted using for sexual gratification.
In September 2015, he was sentenced to a three-year community order, with a three-year supervision requirement.
He was also required to complete a programme for sex offenders and sign the sex offenders’ register for five years.
Anya Horwood, mitigating, told the court that Carter had ‘struggled on a personal level’ following the conviction.
Judge Martin Walsh imposed a threeyear community order and told Carter that he must complete 50 rehabilitation requirement days.
Carter, of Butler Street, Wigan, was also ordered to pay costs of £340.