A CONVICTED sex offender has been jailed after he was caught repeatedly thumbing his nose at a court’s orders.

John McDougall, 44, was living in Ardrossan when he breached four separate requirements of a 'sexual offences prevention order'.

Kilmarnock Sheriff Court heard McDougall had been put on the order for 10 years in February 2016.

Procurator fiscal depute Craig Wainwright said McDougall had been housed in Ardrossan after being liberated in connection with another matter in December 2021.

Having been deemed a high-risk sex offender, he was visited by police three times a week and repeatedly questioned to ensure he was complying with the court’s orders.

But in January 2023 McDougall was taken into custody on another matter, and as a result the property he had been living in, in Young Street, Ardrossan, had to be cleared out by council officers, with police present.

During the clear-out, Mr Wainwright said, two mobile phones were discovered, one of them not known to police.

DNA was later found connecting McDougall to the phone, meaning he’d breached a requirement to tell police within 48 hours of any device he had access to which was capable of accessing the internet.

Then, on June 22 last year, McDougall breached another requirement of the order, to “make any devices available for inspection” when he refused to provide cops with his phone’s PIN code.

He said: “If you want to examine the phone you should use your forensic team to do so.”

Officers were later able to access the device and discovered he had deleted a conversation history on the Grindr app on January 1, 2023, a third breach of the court order.

The last breach was uncovered after police further examined the phone and discovered McDougall had had contact with a woman between December 1, 2022 and January 2, 2023.

The woman was not known to police as an associate of McDougall’s, meaning he had breached a requirement to “disclose any relationships or associations formed with females” to the police.

Brian Holliman, defending, said McDougall had been in custody in connection with the order breaches since August of last year and urged Sheriff George Jamieson to impose a lenient sentence.

“His period on remand has been particularly traumatic this time around,” Mr Holliman said.

“In December his mother received a terminal diagnosis, and she died in January.

“Arrangements were made for him to attend the funeral, but he was then not allowed to, as this could have led to a breach of his conditions.

“That is something he has struggled to come to terms with.

“He tells me that this particular period he has spent in custody has been the most trying of his life.

“This has brought a new sense of focus for him and renewed commitment that this period in custody is his last.”

He added that the matter had already taken a considerable time and that this should be taken into account.

Sheriff Jamieson then imposed a sentence of 22 months in custody, which was backdated to McDougall's initial remand on August 18.

He said: “I have taken into account what has been said on your behalf.

“However, the charges are all serious because you are breaking the terms of a court order implemented to protect the public.”