A convicted sex offender has received a further prison sentence after breaching a court order that was imposed to protect women from his offending.
Peter Barney, aged 59 and of Verwood Road, Three Legged Cross, appeared at Bournemouth Crown Court on Wednesday 17 March 2021 and was sentenced to 21 months in prison for an offence of breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.
The defendant was previously sentenced in March 2013 to three years in prison for an offence of assault by penetration and was made the subject of a Sexual Offences Prevention Order for an indefinite period.
The offence had been committed while he was carrying out work as a gardener and the order imposed by the court stated that he could not be alone in the course of his employment with any female not related to him in any property or garden.
On Wednesday 11 March 2020 a woman was alone at her Wimborne home when Barney knocked on the front door and asked if she wanted any gardening work done.
As they spoke in the porch and the front garden, initially the woman did not recognise him but she came to realise that she did know him and had been made aware previously of the order he was subject to.
She said that during their interaction Barney made her feel very uncomfortable and made comments about her ‘beautiful eyes’.
As the woman went to call her husband, Barney left her garden and she heard a vehicle drive away. She reported the matter to police and Barney was arrested the following day.
At court he admitted breaching the order, but denied making a comment about her eyes and claimed much of the interaction took place on the pavement outside her property rather than in her garden. After hearing evidence, a judge dismissed Barney’s version of events in favour of the victim’s account.
At sentencing, Barney was also made subject to a new Sexual Harm Prevention Order and a restraining order was put in place to protect the victim. Both orders will run until further notice.
Investigator Bill Nixon, of Dorset Police’s MOSOVO (Management of Sexual Offenders and Violent Offenders) team, said: “The court imposed the order when Barney was sentenced in 2013 to protect women from Barney’s sexual offending.
“This breach showed a complete disregard for that order and I would like to thank the victim for reporting this to us and supporting us during the investigation, as well as giving evidence in court.”
Detective Inspector Sarah Gillion, of MOSOVO, added: “Thanks to the victim’s support, Barney is now facing the consequences of ignoring the court order, with a further prison sentence, and he will continue to be closely managed by the MOSOVO team on his release.
“Our team is committed to working with our partners to ensure offenders who pose a risk to women and other members of our communities abide by any restrictions that are in place. If they fail to do so, we will ensure appropriate action is taken.”
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