A CONVICTED sex offender failed to produce a digital camera as required by a sexual harm prevention order when police carried out a home visit in response to the concerns of a mum.

Blackburn magistrates heard Ian Hargreaves Drysdale was also in possession of a tablet which had been restored to factory settings, deleting any browsing history.

Drysdale, 71, of High Street, Rishton, pleaded guilty to two breaches of a sexual harm prevention order. He was remanded on bail for the preparation of a pre-sentence report.

Tara Riley, prosecuting, said police had attended the defendant’s home after the mother of a 16-year-old boy had reported him behaving inappropriately and talking to her son.

“She had followed him to his home before ringing the police,” said Miss Riley. “Contact with the boy was not a breach of the order.”

She said because the tablet had been restored to factory settings there was no way of looking at the browsing history. The digital camera was internet enabled and capable of storing images. He didn’t produce it when the police requested and they later found it in his apartment.

Colleen Dickinson-Jones, defending, said there was a certain level of naivety on her client’s part.

“He had inherited the computer equipment and it was in that condition when he inherited it,” said Mrs Dickinson-Jones. “He didn’t realise the digital camera brought him into breach. Significantly, nothing illegal was found on any of his devices.”

Mrs Dickinson-Jones said she had told her client that in future if he is in any doubt he should contact the police for clarification.