A PAEDOPHILE remains in custody after his sentencing date was postponed again.

Callum Lee Bates, 25, from Andover, was due to be sentenced on Monday, August 19, at Winchester Crown Court after having pleaded guilty to soliciting indecent images from a child.

The 25-year-old, who has been on remand since May 29, has also been charged with possession of a prohibited weapon. This charge delayed his original sentencing date of July 24. 

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He was due to appear at Basingstoke Magistrates' Court on August 16 for the weapon charge, but the hearing was cancelled due to a lack of legal advisors, Winchester Crown Court heard.  

Unable to sentence Bates until a plea is provided for the firearm charge, Judge Timothy Mousley KC postponed sentencing until next month. 

As previously reported, Bates is charged with making unauthorised contact with persons via the messaging tool Discord.

Discord is an instant messaging and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) social platform.

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Bates was first given a five-year SHPO in April 2018, and he was prohibited from unsupervised contact with any male child under the age of 16.

However, he breached this order in 2020 and was later given a three-year community order in February 2021.

This latest incident happened on Sunday, January 14, this year, after Bates changed his username on the same platform.

Addressing Bates, Judge Timothy Mousley KC said: "I am sorry you can not make further process today, my hands are tied effectively. You can not be sentenced today. For the time being, you will remain in custody."

Bates will return to Winchester Crown Court for sentencing on September 11.