An Ellesmere Port man with a string of previous convictions for sexual offences involving underage males has been jailed for 26 months after rubbing baby oil into a teenage boy’s back.

Raymond Thomas, 52, of Langley Court, was sentenced to 10 months imprisonment for sexual activity with a child.

He was also sentenced to 16 months for what was described as a ‘complete and utter’ breach of the sexual offences prevention order (SOPO) imposed on him in 2005.

Both sentences, handed out at Chester Crown Court yesterday (Tuesday), are to run consecutively.

Thomas, who pleaded guilty to both offences, was arrested on November 8, 2013, on suspicion of breaching the SOPO which prohibits any unsupervised contact with males under the age of 16, and the victim’s complaint was made shortly after.

The court heard that Thomas befriended the victim, who was experiencing difficulties at school, and had unsupervised contact with him between November 2012 and November 2013.

The victim stayed overnight at Thomas’ flat and would sleep in the bedroom while Thomas slept in the sitting room, but on one occasion, he woke to find Thomas rubbing baby oil into his bare back.

The court was told that Thomas had paid for top-ups for the victim’s mobile phone.

Thomas was convicted of sex offences involving under age boys in 2000 and in 2005, when he received a 10-year prison sentence, of which he served six years.

Sentencing Thomas, Judge Roger Dutton said that Thomas had ‘cultivated a friendship with an emotionally scarred boy’.

He said: “This went on month after month. I have no doubt that it was an attraction that you had to the boy.

“You engineered situations where you would be alone with him. Albeit there was only one sexual offence in that period, that fact remains that you engineered these situations in complete disregard for the order.

“Your emotions got the better of you and you committed this act.

“Fortunately, that was the end of it and there was no further activity but it is quite plain that you present a risk to youngsters of that age and that was exactly why the SOPO was imposed. The breach was repeated and you knew exactly what was happening.”

Thomas was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £120, and the SOPO remains in force.