A CONVICTED sex offender didn’t notify the police of his location after he was sent to see the mental health team in Carmarthenshire after a case of mistaken identity.

Prosecutor Scott Bowen told Swansea Crown Court that Marcus Williams was homeless when he was released from prison on March 25.

Williams moved from the Great Yarmouth area to London, and on April 15 he attended at a hospital in London after experiencing issues with his mental health.

Staff at the hospital mistook him for a patient from Carmarthenshire, so he was advised to see the mental health team in Carmarthenshire, Mr Bowen said.

Williams’ travel was arranged, and he was booked in to the Travelodge in St Clears.

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Under the terms of the sex offender register, the defendant was due to notify police of any address he stayed at within three days. On April 22, Dyfed-Powys Police were informed Williams was staying at the Travelodge, but had not registered this with them.

He wasn’t present when officers arrived at the Travelodge and a search was launched, with Williams soon being found on Station Road.

Williams told the officers he had had “a traumatic time after his release from prison” and did not have access to a phone. He stated that he thought, as his travel and accommodation had been arranged for him, the police would have also been notified of where he would be.

He answered no comment when the officers asked him why he didn’t ask to use the phone at the Travelodge, Mr Bowen said.

Williams, 51, whose given address to the court was the Travelodge in St Clears, pleaded guilty to failing to comply with the notification requirements of the sex offender register.

The court heard that he had 22 previous convictions for 56 offences between June 1990 and February 2020.

Stuart John, in mitigation, admitted: “Realistically there’s no alternative to immediate custody”.

He said Williams “had a lot going on” – including spending time in mental health institutions, travelling across the breadth of the UK, and being put up in the Travelodge – which had led to him not notifying the police of where he was.

“He has been fully co-operative with me during these proceedings,” Mr John said. “He entered a guilty plea at the earliest opportunity.”

Judge Paul Thomas KC described the case as a “far from straightforward scenario”.

“What I want to achieve here is when he comes out of prison there is a support mechanism for him,” he said.

He jailed Williams for 24 weeks.

“I hope that is enough time for the authorities to get you accommodation and support for your problems,” he said.