Wakefield sex offender thanks judge for prison sentence
A sex offender from Wakefield thanked a Leeds Crown Court judge as he was returned to prison.
The court heard how Neil Poundford had pleaded guilty to failing to comply with his notification requirements as a registered sex offender following his release from prison.
Prosecutor Oliver Kilvington said the defendant had been required to attend a police station within three days of his release from a 12-month sentence.
Neil Poundford is banned from buses following sexual assaults on women.
Poundford told arresting officers he “couldn’t be bothered” registering as it would cost him £30 in taxi fares, the court heard.
Mr Kilvington said the 67-year-old is banned from buses, unless accompanied by a trusted adult, following sexual assaults on women.
He added that Poundford’s deliberate failure to comply represented a “serious risk of harm or distress” to public.
Providing mitigation on his own behalf, the defendant, of no fixed abode, told the court that he holds his “hands up to everything else.”
He added: “If I know I’ll be homeless then I get on a bus and deliberately get caught so I come back here [jail]. I wouldn’t survive a night on the street like younger men.”
Judge, Recorder James Baird, sentenced him to 16 months in prison.
“That’s a very fair sentence your honour. I thank you for your professionalism,” Poundford told the judge.