A convicted paedophile who claims to identify as a little girl has been jailed for having a secret phone found in what was described as a "Hello Kitty" bedroom.

The device was one of two linked to Janiel Verainer discovered by police during a routine but unannounced "offender management" check in November last year.

A jury heard neither had been disclosed to officers as the 63-year-old was required to do so under a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) imposed by Canterbury Crown Court in 2016.

Although their usage was limited to legal, adult-related content via Facebook messenger, WhatsApp and eBay, the sex offender fell foul of the SHPO as it prohibited him from owning or using internet-enabled devices that were not registered with police.

Verainer, of High Street, Chatham, had denied seven breaches of the SHPO between November 8, 2022, and November 8, 2023, but changed those pleas to guilty during a trial at Maidstone Crown Court last week.

During the two-day hearing the paedophile asked to be referred to as 'Ms' and by the pronouns 'she/her', and sat in the dock thumb-sucking, with long hair in bunches and wearing a sweatshirt emblazoned with pictures of kids' ABC building blocks as well as the words “I am mentally 3-7 years”.

But the court heard Verainer, whose previous convictions include sexual assault of a child and possessing indecent images, has no underlying mental health disorder, learning difficulty or brain injury.

Furthermore, a psychiatric report concluded that despite an expressed desire to be diagnosed as an "adult-child" or with "adult-child syndrome", no such medical condition exists and was, the expert stated, "perhaps a life choice or a manifestation of extremely poor coping skills" by the defendant.

At the time the undisclosed phone was found in the bedroom at a property in Rochester, Verainer was also subject to a suspended sentence for a previous breach of the same SHPO.

During the trial, the court heard from Verainer's registered carer and partner Paul Hart, who gave evidence clutching a Hello Kitty soft toy and sucking on a baby's pink dummy.

He told the jury he had seen Verainer using the Samsung phone, adding: "I thought I could trust her. She was only using it to do her music, eBay, and she had a Facebook account.

"I knew 100% she was definitely messaging adults....She showed me she was messaging an adult on Facebook Messenger."

Mr Hart added that the Zanco phone which Verainer had registered with police was one that had no internet access.

Verainer, who has also used the name Jorven Seren in the past, was previously handed a seven-month jail term suspended for 18 months in April 2022 after he flouted other conditions of the same SHPO and kissed two children.

During those legal proceedings, the sex offender made headlines by appearing in the dock dressed as an elf.

Explaining Verainer's decision to identify as a young child, defence barrister Philippa Beswick told the court her client has “regressed to a happier time in her life” as a result of stress and trauma suffered more than 20 years ago.

But Ms Beswick confirmed that the terms of the SHPO were now “fully accepted”.

Jailing Verainer last Wednesday (May 8) for a total of 16 months, Recorder James Lofthouse said breaching court orders “came with consequences”.

“It is plain you are someone who has difficulty coping with adult life but, as the psychiatrist makes plain, there is no underlying psychiatric disorder,” he told the paedophile.

“You recognise you breached this order and that you cannot access the internet in this way which, for someone else, would be innocent activity.

“You need to be aware that the SHPO and sex offender requirements you are subject to remain in force.

“Further breaches will only and inevitably lead to ever longer sentences. The onus is on you to ensure that doesn't happen.”

Verainer has been held on remand at men’s prison HMP Elmley on the Isle of Sheppey since arrest.

A further SHPO breach charge and an offence of failing to comply with sex offender notification requirements were left on the court file.