A convicted pervert has been jailed after police reported he was 'potentially speaking to children' on Instagram and Kik. Neil Fillingham, 45, from Cannock, had previously avoided jail for causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and engaging in sexual communication with a child.
In January 2024, he received a 16-month prison sentence suspended for two years and was issued a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO). However, just one year later, he was caught messaging people on a device not declared to police.
Fillingham admitted 11 counts of breaching a SHPO and one count of failing to comply with notification requirements of the sex offenders register. He was jailed for two years and eight months at Stafford Crown Court on Thursday, April 30.
A Staffordshire Police spokesperson said: 'A man from Cannock who breached a Sexual Harm Prevention Order has been jailed for more than two years. Neil Fillingham, 45, was jailed for two-years-and-eight-months at Stafford Crown Court on Thursday, April 30 after he admitted 11 counts of breaching a SHPO and one count of failing to comply with notification requirements of the sex offenders register.'
'In January 2024, Fillingham was sentenced to 16 months imprisonment, suspended for two years, for causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and engaging in sexual communication with a child. As part of this sentence, he was also served with a 10-year SHPO.'
'In January last year, we received a report that Fillingham was potentially speaking to children on Instagram and Kik. After gathering the evidence, we arrested him at his home and seized his phone. Messages on the phone, which had previously been deleted, were recovered.'
'He was later arrested on another occasion after we found evidence of him using more electronic devices to communicate with people online. An iPhone and an iPad, which had been supplied by his employer, were seized. He did not notify officers that he had access to these devices, which breached the conditions of his SHPO.'
'Now, he's serving time in prison. Our dedicated management of violent and sexual offenders team in Staffordshire are working tirelessly every single day to ensure those who are currently serving orders are abiding to their conditions closely. Those who fail to follow the conditions set out, as evidenced in this case, will be met with robust action and brought before the courts.'
