A SEX offender who carried out a sexual act on himself in front of a child by the river in Hereford is due to be sentenced later this month.

David Power, who has already admitted exposure and engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child, is set to be sentenced this Wednesday (June 30) at Worcester Crown Court.

The 31-year-old, of Pulley Avenue, Eaton Bishop, pleaded guilty to carrying out both offences on August 2, 2018 at a plea hearing in April when he was released on bail.

An earlier sentence hearing did not take place, as planned, on June 16 and the sentence hearing was therefore adjourned to a later date as courts continue to work towards clearing a backlog exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The offences involved him, for the purpose of sexual gratification, performing a sexual act upon himself "by the river in Hereford" in the presence of a child under 16, knowing or intending the child should be aware that he was engaged in that activity.

The case on the last occasion was prosecuted by Timothy Sapwell, who appeared over videolink.

Jason Aris appeared in person at court on behalf of Power.

Judge Martin Jackson adjourned the case so a pre-sentence report could be prepared, granting bail on condition Power co-operate with the probation service in the preparation of that report.

Power faces an additional exposure charge from January this year, a case to which his advocate said he was expected to plead guilty to Kidderminster Magistrates Court on May 12.

“I anticipate a guilty plea to that allegation as well,” said Mr Aris.

In relation to the crown court matters, Mr Aris explained that he had had a "productive conference with his client last week" and had given him "clear advice about the strength of the evidence" and that, as a result, he now wished to change his pleas to guilty.

The judge warned Power that, as a convicted sex offender, notification requirements now applied and that he must register with the police within the next three days.

Power was told he must provide details to police, including his name, date of birth, any aliases he used, his National Insurance number, and any other addresses he used.

“If you fail to comply with notification requirements, that is a criminal offence in its own right carrying up to five years in prison,” the judge warned.

Judge Jackson also told the defendant that if he changed his address or any other detail he must notify police.