A registered sex offender has been sentenced to 12 months in prison after approaching two girls walking home from school near Bath and asking them a sexually explicit question, in a case that also revealed he had breached his supervision requirements at the time of his arrest.
David Blackwood, 58, of Trinity Road, Combe Down, appeared at Bristol Magistrates’ Court on 3 March where he pleaded guilty to engaging in sexual communication with a child, failing to comply with the requirements of the Sex Offenders’ Register, and breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order. In addition to the immediate custodial sentence, Blackwood will remain on the Sex Offenders’ Register for a further ten years and must pay a £187 victim surcharge and £84 toward court costs.
The incident took place on the afternoon of 4 February, when Blackwood approached the two young girls as they made their way home from school. He asked them a question of a sexually explicit nature before running from the scene. The mother of one of the victims subsequently reported the incident to police.
Officers from the Bath Outers Neighbourhood Team, led by Acting Sergeant Cox alongside PCs McFarlane, Osborne and Bush, conducted a swift investigation. Blackwood was arrested, charged and remanded for court on 11 February — just seven days after the incident. During the course of his arrest, officers discovered he had failed to register a new bank card in his possession, constituting a further breach of the supervision requirements already in place against him.
Neighbourhoods’ Inspector Dudley Bond said the two girls had “bravely done the right thing” by telling a responsible adult, which enabled the report to reach police. “Our neighbourhood officers carried out a thorough investigation, which has resulted in a custodial sentence which will prevent harm to further young people in our community,” he said.
Inspector Bond also used the case to appeal to victims and members of the public to come forward if they have concerns. “We want to reassure victims that they will be listened to, believed, and supported. Reporting abuse is incredibly difficult, but nobody must face it alone,” he said.
Blackwood will serve his sentence before being released under the continued requirements of the Sex Offenders’ Register.
