Pervert picked up schoolkids after tricking Leeds parents

Paedophile Michael Squires was allowed unsupervised contact with youngsters after befriending women at a social club in Leeds.

Leeds Crown Court heard Squires, 31, has convictions for sexual activity with a child and possessing indecent images of children.

He was made the subject of a sexual offences prevention order in 2011, with conditions not to have unsupervised contact with anyone under the age of 16.

Paul Nicholson, prosecuting, said Squires befriended women who trusted him to collect their children from school.

A police community support worker recognised Squires as a sex offender after spotting him in a school playground on February 10 this year.

CCTV footage was checked and it showed Squires leaving with a child and going to a bus stop.

Both mothers of the children were horrified at being told of Squires’s past.

One said: “At no time did he tell me that he had been convicted of a sexual offence.” The other mother said: “I regarded him as a brother. I cannot believe he has done this to me or my children.”

Squires, of Holtdale Green, Adel, Leeds, pleaded guilty to breach of a sexual offences prevention order. He was jailed for 14 months.

Judge Simon Phillips, QC, said: “I regard this as deliberate offending. While there is no direct physical harm to either of these children, an obvious risk of harm was created.

“The children’s mothers have been affected by becoming aware of your background and understandably they have suffered anxiety and worry as a result of becoming aware of the situation.”