Sex offender who groped teenage girls on public transport sent back to prison for catching a bus to chemist

A pervert jailed for targeting teenage girls on buses is back in prison for defying a court order banning him from using public transport unaccompanied.
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Neil Poundford was arrested after police spotted him boarding a bus in Wakefield as they kept him under observation.

The 60-year-old was made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) in 2017 after he was locked up for two offences of sexual assault.He preyed on one 17-year-old victim as she was travelling on a bus between Wakefield and Dewsbury.

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He targeted a 13-year-old girl as she was at a bus stop in Horbury, Wakefield.

Leeds Crown CourtLeeds Crown Court
Leeds Crown Court

Poundford served a 16-month sentence but was ordered to comply with the SHPO for ten years.

The order bans him from travelling on public transport without a "responsible adult" and from sitting near unaccompanied females.

Police arrested Poundford on April 17 this year after following the bus.

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Poundford told police officers he had been travelling to the chemist.

He said: "I had to correct my prescription."

Ashleigh Metcalfe, prosecuting, said no females had been on the bus at the time but he was in breach of the order for travelling alone

Matthew Harding, mitigating, said Poundford had only travelled six or seven stops to the chemist as he had health problems and struggled to walk.

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He was given a 24-week sentence by Judge Tom Bayliss, QC, who described Poundford's behaviour as a "flagrant breach of the order."

Poundford protested as he was being sentenced over a video link from Armley jail.

He told the the judge: "But I don't know any responsible people. That's why I went on my own!"

The judge added: "The order is quite clear not to get on a bus without a responsible adult.

"You got on the bus with no one. Your previous convictions have involved sexual assaults on young women and teenage girls."