Tristan Topley was sent to prison for 12 months in August 2017 for indecently assaulting a separate under 16-year-old. Now, despite maintaining he was not aware of the child’s age, he will serve 10 more, for continuing to contact a 15-year old lover, breaking prison rules and his sex offender prevention order.
Between 29 October and 26 November 2017, there were five calls between Topley and the girl via the prison phone system. He was speaking to her during calls that were facilitated by another adult on his approved phone contact list. While the contact broke prison rules – because he was contacting an under 16-year-old who wasn’t on his approved contact list – it also breached his sexual offences prevention order.
The call recordings were listened to as the investigation began, and the conversations were said to have had “general conversational themes” and be “lengthy” – though there was no discussion of the girl’s age in the conversations.
It was also said to have been clear from the recordings the two were in a relationship, saying they loved each other and had plans to co-habit in future.
Initially, on the 28 November, Topley was given a warning letter telling him to stop abusing the phone system. Then the following day he was given another letter warning him against calling an under aged person.
He first appeared in court again for the newest offence on the 13 April. Later, he entered a not guilty plea on the 8 May, but that was changed to a guilty plea on 3 August. That plea was on the grounds that he did not know the age of the girl he was in a relationship with, but should have checked it.
The relationship between Topley and the teenager first came to light after he was caught by her mother, when she went to pick her daughter up from a house she was visiting. Topley himself answered the door, and it was at that time she told him her daughter’s age – 14 at the time – although Topley denies ever knowing she was under 16.
Topley originally found himself behind bars after he was found guilty of indecently assaulting a 13-year-old – a separate person to the teenager, although his relationship with them did date back to before the assault. He was sentenced to a total of 12 months.
At the time, he was subjected to a sexual offences prevention order, which made any contact he had with a female child a criminal offence, unless there was a reasonable excuse.
But Topley persisted with his relationship with her through the phone system, which landed him in court for this second time.
Judge Graeme McKerrell said he was as sure of Topley’s guilt now as he was when he first convicted him in 2017, and felt he was a “real and present danger” to underage people.
“You circumvented the prison rules and got a third party to help you with your contact,” he said.
“While your advocate may say this was only a first breach, there shouldn’t be any breaches of the rules. There needs to be a deterrent set here.”
Judge McKerrell concluded saying Topley was lucky to have not had to go to the Royal Court for his new offences, and if anything new came to light, he would have to.