Prolific child sex offender befriended family and babysat their children

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

A prolific child sex offender befriended a family and babysat their two young children, buying them sweets, ice cream and toys, a court heard.

Their parents knew nothing of Stephen Carruthers' sordid past. He's now been jailed for breaching a court order which stipulated any contact he had with children aged under 18 must be approved.

Carruthers, 64, was only caught when the children's nursery raised concerns with the parents. He was the subject of an indefinite sexual offending prevention order (SHPO) when he first met the children's mother. READ MORE: Police investigating after 'crack and heroin zone' signs appear in Manchester READ MORE: Amber health alert update as temperatures plummet and warning expanded across England Carruthers, of Clevedon Road, Blackpool, was invited to the house but did not mention his previous convictions, Preston Crown Court heard.

As he got closer to the family he began looking after the children while their parents went to work. He put them to bed and would be in the same room when they were having a bath, the court heard.