High-risk sex offender from Warwick has been returned to jail after breaching prevention order

A dangerous sex offender has been returned to jail after he breached a Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO).

Karl Townsend, 49, was released from prison in March and was living in Emscote Road, Warwick. He had served a ten-year extended sentence for sexual assault on an adult woman.

Upon his release he was made subject to a SOPO that, amongst other things, prohibited him from ‘loitering in any place’.

On 10 June, Townsend's monitoring tag showed him leaving his home and walking into Leamington where he spent time in Victoria Park and the Pump Room Gardens.

Within 35 minutes Townsend was arrested in Warwick New Road, Leamington.

On arrest it was clear he had put on a dark coloured hairpiece during this time, it is thought to disguise himself.

Appearing at Warwick Crown Court last week he was jailed for 28 months.

Detective Chief Inspector Karl Faulkner from Warwickshire Police said: “Townsend is an extremely dangerous man and as soon as he was released from prison in March, he was under close supervision to ensure he was unable to cause any harm.

“SOPOs are extremely powerful tools that allow us to control the behaviour of dangerous offenders, preventing them from committing further criminal acts. “As soon as we became aware Townsend had breached, he was arrested, put before the courts, and jailed.”