AN “ISOLATED” sex offender breached the terms of a court order by downloading and deleting social media apps on a number of different phones.

Ifan Evans was convicted in February 2015 for possession of indecent and prohibited images of children and in May 2018 for breaching a sexual harm prevention order, making indecent images of children and possession of prohibited images.

Prosecutor Thomas Scapens told the court that on May 27, 2022, Dyfed-Powys Police searched Evans’ address in Cross Inn, near Llanon, and two mobile phones were seized.

On the phones, officers discovered evidence of the Telegram, Discord and Instagram apps had been downloaded and deleted. One of the phones also had Facebook installed under an alias.

Under the terms of his sexual harm prevention order, Evans was not allowed to use social media – aside from WhatsApp.

In February 2023, Evans was arrested at his home address. There, he handed over two further devices to officers. However the police also found another smartphone that Evans had not declared.

Because the apps had been deleted, the content of the chats on them had not been recovered, Mr Scapens said.

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Ian Wright, defending, said Evans’ best mitigation was his early guilty pleas.

He asked the court to consider “the isolated nature of [Evans’] existence”, and that he lived with his parents and acted as a carer for them.

“His only real interactions other than with his parents and other than those at work appear to be over the internet or virtual,” Mr Wright said.

He told the court that Evans was “a potentially vulnerable individual” who is “susceptible to exploitation by others”. He said the defendant “is firmly of the view” he is in a relationship with a woman from Poland who he video calls and games with online, and had sent her more than £1,000.

“The defendant has maintained all of these apps and all these accounts were set up at her instigation to communicate with her because she didn’t want him using the WhatsApp app, which he was permitted to,” Mr Wright said.

He said that the Facebook profile found on Evans’ phone appeared to have originated from Poland.

Evans, 37, admitted seven breaches of his sexual harm prevention order and one charge of failing to comply with the terms of the sex offender notification requirements.

Judge Catherine Richards described the breaches as “persistent” and said Evans had a “flagrant disregard for the orders”.

“I accept that on the face of it you appear to have your own difficulties and vulnerabilities,” she said.

“The pre-sentence report paints a picture of an isolated individual.”

Evans was sentenced to 20 months for each offence, running concurrently. Each of these sentences were suspended for two years, and Evans must complete 150 hours of unpaid work and 30 rehabilitation activity requirement days.