A WORKINGTON sex offender secretly used his wife's Samsung phone for internet games and to shop online, a court heard.

But 43-year-old Kevin Scott – who was under a strict legal obligation to have all of his internet use controlled by police monitoring software – lied about using the device when he was quizzed by police.

At Carlisle Crown court, the defendant, of Charles Close, Workingon, admitted breaching his sexual harm prevention order.

The court heard that the order was imposed in 2011 after Scott was convicted of 20 offences involving the downloading of indecent child images. He was also given a suspended jail sentence.

But during a visit to his home on June 4 last year, his police monitoring officer discovered a Samsung phone, which was clearly capable of accessing the internet.

Asked by his offender manager if he had used the phone to access the internet, he denied ever using it, saying it belonged to his wife.

When police checked the phone, they found a tell-tale message – a text message, in which his wife said: “Kev’s been using my phone for playing games.” When arrested, he commented: “I’m sorry for playing games.”

He then told the police that he wanted to use the phone because he wanted to "feel normal". Scott confirmed using the Samsung three times a week to play “military strategy games.”

Sean Harkin, defending, said the defendant’s offence had come after a long period of complying with the order. He had not used the phone to look for images but to play games and shop.

“It was an offence born out of complacency,” said the lawyer, adding that Scott realised that the internet was a dangerous place.

Recorder Andrew Nuttall accepted that the defendant did not use the phone to look for sexual images online.

From the dock, the defendant said: “I will not do it again.”

The Recorder said that, having read a background report, he was confident Scott would not breach the order again. He imposed a 12-month community order, with a three month 8pm to 7am curfew, which will be electronically monitored.

Scott also admitted a second offence of breaching his court order by hindering the police enquiries into the phone's use.