Sex offender infiltrated anti-paedophile group

A convicted sex offender who came in to contact with young children after infiltrating an anti-paedophile group was jailed for 20 months.
Michael Terry, 43, of Marsh Lane, PrestonMichael Terry, 43, of Marsh Lane, Preston
Michael Terry, 43, of Marsh Lane, Preston

Michael Terry, 43, of Marsh Lane, Preston, became head of security for the Lincolnshire based ‘Guardian Angels’ despite being banned from contacting children by a Sexual Offences Prevention Order.Terry was trusted to stay overnight at the home of three young children and was only exposed after police and the group’s director ran checks on him. It emerged that Terry had already been jailed for breaching his order by staying overnight with a vulnerable young mum and her six-year-old son in Blackpool.Terry was originally banned from contacting any child under-16 or staying overnight at a child’s address after appearing at Liverpool Crown Court in November 2014.He was jailed for 12 months at Preston Crown Court in February 2016 after “befriending” the mum of a young boy in Blackpool but after his release joined the Guardian Angels.Prosector Justin Wigoder told Lincoln Crown Court: “The Guardian Angels are an organisation which seek to monitor online activity with a view to identifying sexual predators.“Terry managed to become head of security for that organisation. The director is Mandy Bradley who has four children, with three aged 12 and under.“Over a period of several months he would travel from his home in Preston and stay overnight with the family at the weekend.”In a victim impact statement which she read out in court Mrs Bradley described how her “world fell apart” when she discovered Terry’s convictions.“He didn’t have the decency to inform us of his crimes,” she told the court.Mr Wigoder said Terry’s past was only discovered in February this year when several members of the group assisted with an arrest in Derbyshire.As a result police requested information on the group which led to Mrs Bradley discovering Terry’s previous convictions.David Eager, mitigating, told the court Terry’s “only excuse” was that he trying to repair the damage of his previous offending.Terry admitted a single charge of breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.Passing sentence Judge Andrew Easteal told Terry he did not accept in any way that he was trying to put right his previous offending.The judge told him: “In this case you deliberately, artfully and with great deceit invaded yourself as head of security for this group known as the Guardian Angels.”Speaking after the hearing Mrs Bradley said she was satisfied with the jail sentence for Terry.She said: “The sentence is never really enough, but we respect the judge has to stay within the guidelines and we knew he would get between 18 months and three years.“We are satisfied with the result.”