Convicted Lancashire sex offender is back behind bars

Steven Hobson from Bacup breached his court order

Author: Louisa KingPublished 26th Jan 2023
Last updated 26th Jan 2023

A convicted offender who offered to pay women for videos of themselves breastfeeding is back behind bars after we arrested him in East Lancashire.

An urgent press appeal was launched last January after Steven Hobson left his registered property in Yorkshire without notice – something he was banned from doing under the terms of a court order.

Following a press appeal Hobson did contact our colleagues in South Yorkshire Police but refused to tell them where he was.

In May we carried out an address check in Bacup and found 30-year-old Hobson inside. He was holding a black Samsung mobile phone, which we seized for examination.

Enquiries found that Hobson had breached his court order by not registering the phone with police. More concerning was what officers found on the phone.

On Facebook Hobson was using the screen name Jamie Wilson – a name not registered with police which put him in breach of his court order – and he was also posing as a photography company and offering families a free photo shoot of their baby using the company name EVOLUTIONDIVAS. Hobson also offered to pay women online for videos of themselves breastfeeding or posing with a doll and carrying out the act.

Ten indecent images of children were found on Hobson’s Samsung, as well as 40 images of babies and toddlers breastfeeding

He also factory re-set his phone on four occasions – something he was banned from doing under the terms of the court order.

Hobson, 30, of St James Square, Bacup, pleaded guilty to five breaches of his Sexual Harm Prevention Order and possessing indecent images of children when he appeared at Burnley Crown Court last week.

He was jailed for four years and seven months and put on the Sex Offenders Register for life.

DS Mark Hutchinson, of the EAST MOSOVO (Management of Sexual and Violent Offenders) Team, said: “Hobson is an extremely high-risk offender who poses a clear danger to children. It was thanks to pro-active policing from the East MOSOVO team and our colleagues in response that he was located, and evidence was uncovered of his perverted offending.

“I am pleased with the sentence handed down to Hobson. Even once he is released, the orders issued by the court means he will continued to be monitored by the authorities.”

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