A CONVICTED paedophile who started living in the same house as children in defiance of a court order has been jailed.

Matthew Liam Dunning, 28, didn’t tell the youngsters’ mother about his conviction for sexually abusing a girl, York Crown Court heard.

He had been homeless for some time. 

A judge said the paedophile’s actions put children at risk.

Celine Kart, prosecuting, said Dunning stayed at the house for three weeks before police found out and arrested him.

Because Dunning is on the sex offenders’ register, he has to tell the police within three days of starting to reside in a house where children live.

For him, defence barrister Charlotte Noddings said: “He doesn’t accept he had unsupervised contact with the children.”

Recorder Dapinder Singh KC said Dunning had “deliberately” concealed his criminal past from the children’s mother and there had been a risk of harm to the youngsters.

Dunning knew the requirements of the register and had decided to disobey them.

“He created, deliberately, that risk (to the children),” said the judge.

Dunning, formerly of Thornton-le-Dale and now of Pavilion Square, Scarborough, pleaded guilty to failing to comply with the register and was jailed for 12 months. He was convicted of a similar offence in 2018.

He is on the register for life because he was given a prison sentence of more than 30 months for the sexual abuse of the girl some years ago.

He is also subject to a sexual harm prevention order imposed at the same time as the prison sentence and is monitored by North Yorkshire Police’s public protection officers.

Ms Kart said an officer found out about Dunning’s illegal activity when the mother told police on the phone that Dunning had been living with her for three weeks.

Dunning was with her at the time and when the officer asked to speak to him, the paedophile claimed he had only been at the house that day and that the woman knew about his sexual convictions.

But he later accepted he had been at her house for three weeks. The mother confirmed to police that she didn’t know about Dunning’s sexual convictions.

Ms Noddings said Dunning had been “scared” to tell the mother.

“He accepts he should have told the public protection officer,” she said.

Dunning suffered from anxiety and depression and was isolated socially because of the consequences of his sexual convictions. He also had problems with alcohol.

He had been homeless, but had managed to find privately rented accommodation with the help of the Rainbow House centre for the homeless. He would lose that accommodation if he was jailed, said Ms Noddings.