Liam Palmer, a convicted rapist residing in Leeds, has been reincarcerated for neglecting to inform the police of his acquisition of a passport and subsequent visit to Amsterdam.
Liam Palmer, having been registered as a sex offender, is required to inform the police upon receipt of relevant documents and must provide a minimum of seven days’ notice before to travelling overseas. In 2017, he was convicted of raping a woman in the Bristol area and sentenced to six years in prison.
Liam Palmer appeared at Leeds Crown Court via video link from HMP Leeds this week and acknowledged two counts of noncompliance with the notification requirements of his order.
In March, Prosecutor Mark Thomas stated that Liam Palmer’s offender manager was informed by UK Border Force that Palmer had journeyed to Amsterdam from Manchester Airport in June of the previous year. He was thereafter informed that Palmer had also obtained a new passport.
The 31-year-old was arrested earlier this month, but during his police interview largely gave no comments, although he did admit he was a registered sex offender.
Mitigating, Ian Cook said that Liam Palmer, of Aston View, Bramley, had been released from prison in August 2020 and had been complying with probation.
Liam Palmer said his trip to Amsterdam was not for a holiday, but that his uncle had died in the Netherlands wanted to attend the funeral, but did not want to risk being refused permission if he informed police.
Mr Cook said: “In reality, he hoped he got away with it. There was no sinister attempt. It follows a long period of exemplary compliance and this was something that he had hoped would not rear its head. He now wants to get back to where he was.”
Judge Penelope Belcher told Liam Palmer: “I’m dealing here with serious and deliberate breaches. You thought this was important and therefore you were going to travel. There’s no dispute it was deliberate and I take the view that this is long period of non-compliance.” She jailed him for 12 months.
Liam Palmer had been jailed at Bristol Crown Court in August 2017 for raping a woman while she slept after a house party. The woman had gone to bed with another female friend only to wake later to find Palmer on top of her. He was jailed for six years.
If you or anyone you know have been affected by the people highlighted in this article, then please report those individuals to the Police on 111 (999 if an emergency) or visit their online resources for further details of the options for reporting a crime. You can also make a report at Crimestoppers should you wish to be completely anonymous. There is help available on our support links page.