A convicted paedo has been sent back to jail after going AWOL from a homeless shelter.
Homeless child sex offender Thomas Braithwaite was meant to be living at a Centrepoint hostel in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, but disappeared in January without telling the authorities.
The 25-year-old, who has a string of sex convictions including sexual activity with a child and exposing himself, was eventually caught by police living in a tent on the street, Sheffield Crown Court was told on Monday.
A court heard Braithwaite claim he was forced to leave the hostel when other guests staying there found out about his sick past, The Star reports.
Edward Moss, prosecuting, said, as ordered under his probation terms, the monster had failed to notify police of his whereabouts.
After Braithwaite was released from prison in November last year, he was supposed to stay at Centrepoint, but went missing two months later, Mr Moss added.
"There are numerous convictions for breaching notification requirements and from his antecedent history he has a flagrant disregard for court orders of any type," he said.
Braithwaite pleaded guilty to failing to comply with his sex offender notification requirements.
"He was to reside at the Centrepoint hostel but unfortunately he had been targeted there because they had found out about his convictions," Rebecca Stevens, defending, said.
She went on: "He left and ended up living in a tent on the outskirts of Rotherham and he has to accept it was a deliberate breach because he did not inform the police of his whereabouts."
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Stevens added that the heroin addict wanted to go to jail because he believed it would help him to kick his long-term habit.
"He speaks of wasting the last five years of his life and he is making considerable progress while in custody," she said.
Judge David Dixon sentenced Braithwaite to 13 months behind bars.
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