A REGISTERED sex offender sent a lewd image to two teenage girls - and encouraged them to return the favour.

Gary Crandley’s concerning conduct emerged at Carlisle Crown Court as criminal offending dating back a decade emerged.

Crandley, 40, was sentenced in 2009 for possessing indecent images of children.

He was made subject to a sexual harm prevention order (SOPO) which imposed strict conditions upon him. He was given a suspended prison term in 2013 for flouting that, and a year later received an 18-month prison sentence for again failing to comply.

A 12-month jail sentence was imposed in 2017 for another breach.

And on Friday, Crandley, of Cumberland Court, Carlisle, admitted two more. They were for illegal possession of an internet-enabled mobile phone, and deleting online history over several weeks around the turn of this year.

The court heard Crandley had struck up “increasingly sexualised” contact with two 16-year-old girls, to whom he sent a lewd image.

He also encouraged them to send him indecent pictures, a judge was told.

“The nature of the contact is concerning and relevant, the Crown submit, to the breaches and the seriousness of the breaches,” said Tim Evans, prosecuting.

In addition, Crandley had been dishonest when interviewed by police, falsely stating he didn’t have such a mobile phone and then claiming there was no sexual contact with the females.

Crandley, a city Subway food outlet manager, told Judge Nicholas Barker he didn’t want to lose his job and was willing to attend an accredited offender treatment course.

“I’m really sorry for breaching the order,” he insisted.

But Judge Barker imposed an immediate 20-month prison sentence for what he called “a very persistent breach”.

“You have shown yourself to be deceitful when it came to that communication,” he said of the offending.

Crandley will remain subject to the strict terms of an indefinite sexual harm prevention order which had replaced the SOPO.