A registered sex offender from Stockton has been jailed for three years after repeatedly breaching a court order designed to protect children and actively seeking out indecent images online.
David Potts, 71, admitted using VPNs and other tools to conceal his online activity while accessing child abuse material. Investigators also discovered he had made attempts to copy indecent images onto his devices.
Police found Potts accessed indecent images of children between January and August 2025, including some of the most serious Category A abuse images.
The offences came despite Potts already being subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order following previous online child sexual offences dating back to 2020. Officers said he repeatedly ignored the strict conditions imposed on him, breaching the order seven times.
Potts pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children, attempting to possess indecent images, multiple breaches of his Sexual Harm Prevention Order and failing to comply with sex offender notification requirements.
He was sentenced at Teesside Crown Court to three years in prison. When released, he will remain subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and Sex Offender Notification Requirements.