A thief captured on CCTV stealing a wallet was arrested after arriving at a police station to sign the sex offenders’ register.
Jake Barker was jailed for four years in 2016 after sexually assaulting a woman in the Hyson Green area of Nottingham.
Following his release, he was told to sign the sex offenders’ register at regular intervals – a requirement he often failed to meet, resulting in further spells in prison.
The 30-year-old was released again in February this year but again failed to stay out of trouble.
On 24 April, CCTV captured him stealing a wallet from a coat after he entered Slug and Lettuce, in Forman Street, Nottingham.
And on 4 June, he stole a mobile phone while inside McDonald’s, in St Peter’s Street, Derby.
Both incidents were reported and investigations launched, which involved Barker’s image being circulated to policing colleagues.
On Tuesday this week (27 August), he presented himself at Central Police Station, based at Byron House in Nottingham city centre, in order to sign the sex offenders’ register.
Checks found he was wanted over the wallet and mobile phone thefts and so he was arrested.
When questioned, Barker, of Great Hoggett Drive, Chilwell, answered no comment to all questions put to him – but officers already had sufficient evidence to charge him.
He was put before Nottingham Magistrates’ Court the following day (Wednesday 28 August), where he pleaded guilty to two counts of theft.
He was jailed for 38 weeks and ordered to pay compensation to his two victims, totalling £100.
PC Roger Weir, of Nottinghamshire Police’s prisoner handling team, said:
“Barker is a prolific offender who has shown a flagrant disregard for the law over many years.
“He showed some signs of improvement by attending an appointment this week to sign the sex offenders register, but was ignorant to the fact we knew about his recent acquisitive crimes.
“I am pleased he has been dealt with quickly by the courts and is back in prison. Hopefully this time he will finally get the message that crime has very real consequences.
“Put simply, if you carry on committing offences after you’ve been released from custody, you will continue to see a prison cell.”
