A convicted sex offender who was banned from using social media flouted his court order and deleted the evidence before police could check his computers.

John Paterson said he had used social media for years, downloading the apps and deleting them before police found him out.

He had used Kik, Discord, Steam, Twitch and Twitter, and also had a second email hidden from officers.

Paterson was found with three cartoon images of children engaged in sexual activity.

The now 25-year-old was convicted of rape in 2010 and sexual assault two years later, before a court imposed a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) after concerns of his behaviour following his convictions.

He was given a suspended sentence after Judge James Townsend condemned him for complaining about the SHPO, who said: “Your own behaviour shows such an order is necessary to protect young children.”

Earlier, Swindon Crown Court had been told that a court made an indefinite order in 2015 banning him from activities including using social media, and that he had to allow police to inspect his devices on request.

In August 2020, Paterson’s offender manager made a routine visit, and when checking his Google search history, found a search asking how to delete a Kik account, prosecutor Ieuan Callaghan told the court.

“A more detailed look at the phone, the app Kik had been used frequently though February and March of 2021. Further enquiries show he had an email address.”

When asked to allow police to search his other devices, he became “agitated” and told them: “You may as well arrest me.”

Three prohibited images of children were found. Paterson admitted using social media on an almost daily basis.

Defending, Tony Bignall said that Paterson, of Palmer Street in Chippenham, sees himself “as trying to emerge from a background of making mistakes”.

“He sees himself as going through an extremely long tunnel, already subject to the SHPO which I accept he’s breached.

“The change that we’ve now reached is that although he appears to have flouted it, he is volunteering to me he is willing to co-operate with the probation service.”

He added that Paterson wanted to go to college and was worried an indefinite SHPO would prevent him from doing that.

Having admitted four breaches of his SHPO and one count of possessing prohibited images of children, Paterson was given an 18-month sentence, suspended for 2 years.

He must complete 60 rehabilitation activity days, be subject to a seven-year SHPO and sign the sex offenders’ register for ten years.