A sex offender who has been wanted by Police for almost 2 years has finally been arrested after he was found living on a boat on the Isle of Wight.
James Ernest Williams – also known as Alan John Appleton – has been one of Devon & Cornwall Police’s most wanted criminals since October 2020, with an appeal issued to locate the now 55-year-old for breaching the conditions of his release from prison.
He failed to appear at Newton Abbott Magistrates Court on 9th December 2020.
It was last Tuesday night that Police arrived at Folly Lane in Whippingham and arrested Williams, taking him into custody at Newport Police Station for questioning.
It’s unknown how he was located but it is known his appearance had changed, putting on weight and growing his hair and beard.
It has been confirmed that the 55-year-old, who originally comes from Manchester, was charged with 2 counts of failing to comply with sex offender notification requirements and was remanded in custody to appear at Portsmouth Magistrates Court on 30th June.
At last Thursday’s hearing, the case was sent up to the Crown Court where Williams will now appear on 5th August. He has been remanded in custody until that time.
Williams – or Appleton as he is more commonly known – comes from Warrington with links to the South Devon area such as Torbay and Dartmouth. It was thought he was in the Paignton area for a time, then possibly Portsmouth or Reading. His last known address was Clarence Street, Dartmouth.
They all come over to the isle of wight be vigilant
Smoke weed every day
Wow, how classy are you!
Come on Stuart we all no ur a pot head
It’s “know you’re “, but how do I know I’m wasting my time here.
Ps…don’t need it, don’t touch the stuff, and can’t stand the smell of it!
Do you?
Drink drive better
You desperately need help you saddo.
sensible by name sensible by nature 🙂
I’m glad the police done another fine peace of work getting this scum bag of our roads and locked up and happy it at crown court where justice has a much better chance of being served as magistrates are a waste of tax payers money and 1 of the streets leaves our children just a little safer.
One hopes that those Rotherham and Rochester gang rapists of young white girls are monitored with better observation than this low life filth.
This is another of the drawbacks of those living in unallocated places like converted vans, lorries, coaches, boats and odd caravans in council car parks or private land, that as they are effectively of no fixed abode, they are hard to trace if, as many could be, they are living like that because they have had a dubious past.
The council need to remove any illegal rough living types so that anyone who is ‘odd’ can be better monitored for our children’s safety.
It’s Len Fairclough (those old enough to remember who he was)
Did they find him in the swimming pool?
What’s ‘failing to comply with sex offender notices?’ If you ask someone to do that they’re not going to are they!? Why give him a bloody choice ffs!! It beggars belief honestly!!