A sex offender who was found by officers in a child’s bed after gaining the trust of the victim’s family has been jailed.

Jake Booth of Pembury Grove in Tonbridge was already banned from communicating with children when he met the teenage girl online and started living in her home.

The 22-year-old created an internet chat group for motorbike enthusiasts and used the forum to contact the child.

From there, their conversations moved to Snapchat and Booth made arrangements to meet the girl and her parents.

After gaining the confidence of the family, he convinced them they were simply close friends so he was allowed to stay in their home.

But, unbeknown to the family, Booth was the subject of a sexual harm prevention order following previous convictions for making indecent images of children in 2022.

This 10-year order included strict measures to protect children and meant he was prohibited from having any unsupervised contact or communication with anyone under 16.

On April 11, 2024, Booth was arrested and found in the child’s bed by officers.

He was charged with 14 offences relating to breaches of a sexual harm prevention order and sex offender notification requirements.

Booth pleaded guilty at Maidstone Crown Court and on January 31 and he was sentenced to three years in prison.

PC Lorny Booth, who led the investigation, said: “Jake Booth effectively groomed this child and then exploited her family’s trust, whilst he sought to evade the many strict measures designed to prevent him from reoffending.

“Whilst there is no evidence in this case to directly connect Booth to any sexual abuse offences, the prison sentence passed by the courts demonstrates that he is a manipulative and predatory offender who poses a clear threat to children.”