Mark Ross – Norwich

Norwich sex offender Mark Ross spared jail over secret phone

A Norwich sex offender who kept a secret device and social media account has been spared a jail sentence.

Mark Ross, 65, who is on the sex offenders’ register, failed to notify police public protection officers of a new electronic device within three days of its acquisition.

He also failed to reveal he had set up an account on the Telegram messaging application in breach of notification requirements.

Ross, of White House Court in Catton Grove, pleaded guilty to two counts of breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO).

Judge Anthony Bate sentenced him to eight months but suspended it for 18 months with requirements to complete rehabilitation days and 300 hours unpaid work.

Norwich Magistrates’ Court heard he had also attempted to lure another girl into explicit sex chats for his own gratification.

Ross had previously faced sexual offences including chatting online to what he believed were pre-pubescent girls.

They were in fact decoy accounts set up by adults to catch and hunt down online paedophiles.

Footage of his apparent arrest in 2022 was captured on video and posted online.

It led to him being accused of grooming what he believed was a 13-year-old girl into committing a sex act on herself involving penetration.