A serial sex offender has been remanded in custody after police discovered he had attempted to send sexual messages to a child while subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order. Thomas Smith, 30, was arrested on Wednesday after refusing to provide police with the PIN for his mobile phone so officers could inspect the device. When police subsequently gained access to the phone, they discovered that Smith had attempted to send sexual messages to a child the previous month.

Guilty pleas at Bexley Magistrates’ Court

Smith, of Oakhurst Avenue, appeared at Bexley Magistrates’ Court on Thursday. He pleaded guilty to attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and two breaches of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO). He was remanded in custody and will be sentenced at Woolwich Crown Court at a later date.

Previously jailed after paedophile hunter sting

Smith had previously been jailed in March 2024 after being caught during a paedophile hunter sting. He had sent sexual messages to someone he believed was a 13-year-old girl before arranging to meet her at Bexleyheath Station. Instead, Smith was confronted by a group of paedophile hunters when he arrived at the station. The encounter and his subsequent arrest were livestreamed on Facebook. Smith was later sentenced to two years in prison for that offence. His latest convictions follow his release and subsequent offending while subject to restrictions imposed under the Sexual Harm Prevention Order. Smith remains in custody ahead of sentencing at Woolwich Crown Court.

Originally published by UKNIP.