Sex offender is jailed over secret phone

Asex offender who was caught with an illicit burner phone in Fife revealed that he had broken the law again by asking for his undeclared “girlfriend” to be made aware of his arrest.

Sandy Ross admitted two breaches of his strict Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO).

The HMP Perth inmate had been made subject to the order at Edinburgh Sheriff Court in May.

Among the restrictions placed on him were the obligation to inform offender management unit (OMU) officers of any device he had which could access the internet.

Police found that, while staying with a friend in Pentland Terrace, High Valleyfield, Ross had gained access to a mobile phone without declaring it.

He then blundered by asking them to call his “girlfriend” with whom he had been having illegal contact.

Fiscal depute Ronnie Hay told Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court that police arrived at the property on August 9, aware he was inside and found him with a Samsung mobile phone.

A witness said they had given Ross the phone on July 30 as he was staying with her. She said she advised him to declare the device but he refused.

Ross was taken into custody, where he revealed to police that he had breached another condition of his SOPO.

The court order meant he must also alert OMU officers of the name and contact details of any females with whom he intentionally communicated online or electronically, within 72 hours of doing so.

Mr Hay said: “He wished to inform his girlfriend of his arrest. He joked that he’d breached his conditions.”

Officers searched the seized phone and found Facebook messages dating back to August 1 between Ross and the woman.

The pair had also communicated by video call.

The court heard that Ross had been planning to visit her home in West Lothian.

The woman was contacted by police and told officers she was not in a relationship with Ross but that he “thought they were”.

His defence solicitor Martin Hughes said: “There seems to be a compulsion on his part.

“The only place it (the relationship) seems to have existed is in his head.

“He knows he’s getting a custodial sentence today now he will have a conviction on indictment.

“For someone who is only 28… it’s fairly depressing.”

Sheriff Pino Di Emidio jailed Ross for a year, backdating his sentence to August 18 when he was remanded.

The sheriff told him: “Mr Ross, you have pled guilty to two charges.

“You have a number of analogous convictions.

“It should, I hope, be clear to you the penalties for this will only escalate if this continues.”

Earlier this year, Ross was jailed for attacking his former partner and threatening to petrol bomb her family’s homes.

In 2020, police warned members of the public to stay away from him as they launched a manhunt, citing his links to Fife, the Borders and the Lothians.

Ross was also jailed in 2019 at Jedburgh Sheriff Court for breaching another SOPO.

He wished to inform his girlfriend. He joked that he’d breached his conditions

Sandy Ross was caught with an illicit burner phone.