Man handed Sexual Risk Order

A man from St Ives police deem to be of particular danger to teenage girls has been handed a Sexual Risk Order (SRO) after it was successfully granted by the courts today (Friday, February 21).

An SRO is a civil order which can be sought by the police against someone who has not been convicted or cautioned of any offence but is thought to pose a risk of harm.

Armaan Ahmed, 20, of Spinney Way, St Ives, has been handed strict conditions to abide by for the next five years. These state that Ahmed must not:

• Contact or attempt to contact any girl under the age of 18, directly or indirectly, except as is an unavoidable part of daily life, or unless supervised by an adult with knowledge of the SRO

• Be present in any residential premises at which any girl under the age of 18 resides for more than 12 hours within any 24 hour period, unless with permission of a police officer with knowledge of the SRO

• Follow or loiter near any girl under the age of 18 in a public place

• Stay overnight at any hotel or other booked lodgings (including but not limited to bed and breakfasts, Air BnB or similar) unless he informs a police officer with knowledge of this order no later than five days prior to the arrival date and provides to that officer any required information relating to the stay

• Loiter within 20m of any educational or childcare establishment for persons under 18

Ahmed is also further required to make any device capable of accessing the internet in his possession available for examination on request by police. This includes giving relevant PINs and passwords.

He must also:

• Inform police of all devices capable of accessing the internet within his possession within three days of acquiring them

• Inform police of any applications for employment, work or volunteering roles within three days of making the application

• Present himself at the door of any premises at which he is present on the request of a police officer

• Inform police of his current location immediately on request

• Inform police of any overnight stays at any addresses other than his home address within three days of the stay, including providing such information relating to the stay as may be required

• Inform police of any repeated contact of a private nature from any girls under the age of 18 within three days

PC Adriana Leaver Hernandez, from the force’s Child Exploitation Hub, said: “Ahmed has shown he is a high risk sexual predator who targets and exploits vulnerable girls and women in the community, with multiple reports made against him.

“This order is necessary to prevent further sexual harm to other children and protect women and girls. We are committed to protecting children from exploitation and preventing others coming into such harm.

“We would strongly encourage anyone with any concerns that a child may be being exploited to report this to the police and local authority.”

An SRO is similar to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO), in that it imposes restrictions on an individual with the intention of managing that risk of harm.

Breach of the conditions of an SRO is a criminal offence, punishable by up to five years in prison.

It is a registerable offence and makes the individual a Registerable Sex Offender for the duration of the order.

For more information about child protection, including child exploitation, visit the force’s dedicated web pages.