A CHILD rapist has been sent back to prison for 30 weeks after he used an alias to open a Facebook account without telling police.

Don Knowles was found to have breached the notification requirements as a sex offender soon after he was released from a lengthy custodial sentence.

He was required to list any names and aliases he might use on his release as part of the regulations.

Mold Crown Court heard that after his release Knowles also invited two teenagers to his home, one of whom was 15 at the time, but the Crown Prosecution Service chose not to prosecute him on that matter.

Knowles was jailed for 12 years in 2013 after he was convicted of eight counts of rape of a child under 13 and two sexual assaults against a child under 13.

When he was released on September 17 last year he had served nearly six years for his crimes and a sexual prevention order was in place to ensure he did not have unsupervised contact with children under 16.

Prosecuting barrister Karl Schulz said that Knowles was required to sign the notification requirements of the sexual offenders register, one of which was that he would provide his name and address and all other names he might use to police.

“The matter came to light on January 19 (this year) when he was seen by his offender manager when he seems to have described to her how he met a girl who he believed was 16 and a 19-year-old man and invited them back to his home,” outlined the prosecutor.

Knowles was then seen by officers of North Wales Police’s Sexual and Violent Offenders Unit on February 10 when he admitted storing the girl’s phone number under the name of male who he had met with her.

When he denied making her a friend on Facebook it was noted that his Facebook account had been opened in the name of Don Kehoe.

“He said he had advised police he was using these names, but then changed his story,” added Mr Schulz.

“When enquiries were made the girl was found to have been 15 at the time they met, but the CPS chose not to continue with that charge because the girl said there had been no discussion of her age and the man said there had and she said she was 17.”

But the barrister said the failure to comply with the notification requirements was a deliberate breach and committed while he was on licence and subject to post-sentence supervision.

Knowles, 40, and formerly of Borthyn, Ruthin, pleaded guilty to breaching the notification requirements as a sexual offender.

Defence barrister Simon Killeen claimed there was nothing “sinister” about Knowles’ breach and he was trying to avoid the intention of those who targeted sex offenders.

“People leaving custody are allowed to use the internet and use any name they wish but they have to tell the police about it. But he says there are people who troll individuals who they believe have committed offences like him,” said Mr Killeen.

“If there had been a sinister reason he wouldn’t have taken on a Facebook account and showed its details to the police.”

But Judge Rhys Rowlands disagreed and told Knowles: “This was a really brazen breach of the requirements. I believe it was done to circumvent the requirements.”