Thumb-sucking sex offender jailed after police found secret phones

The 63-year-old offender sat in the dock with thier hair in pigtails wearing a sweatshirt which read 'I am 3-7 years old'

A thumb-sucking paedophile who claims to identify as a five-year-old girl and once appeared in court dressed as an elf has been jailed after police found a secret phone in what was described as a ‘Hello Kitty’ bedroom.

Janiel Verainer, 63, fell foul of a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) after officers discovered two unregistered devices during routine checks of his home last year, a jury heard.

The sex offender, whose previous convictions include sexual assault of a child and possessing indecent images, had been required to disclose any internet-enabled devices to officers – but in this case failed to do so.

While their usage was limited to legal, adult-related content via Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and eBay, Verainer admitted breaching the SHPO – first imposed in 2016 – following a trial last week at Maidstone Crown Court.

During the two-day hearing, the paedophile, from Chatham, Kent, sat in the dock sucking their thumb, with long hair in bunches, and wearing a sweatshirt emblazoned with pictures of kids’ alphabet building blocks as as well as the words ‘I am mentally 3-7 years’.

However, the court heard that Verainer had no underlying mental health disorder, learning difficulty, or brain injury.

A psychiatric report revealed Verainer wished to be diagnosed as an ‘adult-child’ or with ‘adult-child syndrome,’ but no such condition exists and the expert concluded the desire was ‘perhaps a life choice or a manifestation of extremely poor coping skills’.

Verainer initially denied seven breaches of the SHPO between 8 November 2022 and 8 November 2023, but later changed those pleas to guilty.

During the trial, the court heard from Paul Hart – Verainer’s registered carer and partner – who gave evidence while clutching a Hello Kitty toy and sucking on a baby’s pink dummy.

He told the jury he had seen Verainer- who requested female pronouns- using a Samsung phone, and said: ‘I thought I could trust her.

‘She was only using it to do her music, eBay, and she had a Facebook account.

‘I knew 100% she was definitely messaging adults. She showed me she was messaging an adult on Facebook Messenger.’

Mr Hart added that another phone which Verainer had registered with police was one that had no internet access.

Verainer, who has also used the name Jorven Seren, previously flouted the conditions of the same SHPO in April 2022 after kissing two children.

During those legal proceedings, in which they were handed a seven-month prison term suspended for 18 months, the paedophile made headlines by appearing in the dock dressed as an elf.

Explaining Verainer’s decision to identify as a young child, defence barrister Philippa Beswick told the court her client has ‘regressed to a happier time in her life’ as a result of stress and trauma suffered more than 20 years ago.

But Ms Beswick confirmed that the terms of the SHPO were now ‘fully accepted’.

Jailing Verainer last Wednesday (May 8) for a total of 16 months, Recorder James Lofthouse said that breaching court orders ‘came with consequences’.

He said: ‘It is plain you are someone who has difficulty coping with adult life but, as the psychiatrist makes plain, there is no underlying psychiatric disorder.

‘You recognise you breached this order and that you cannot access the internet in this way which, for someone else, would be an innocent activity.

‘You need to be aware that the SHPO and sex offender requirements you are subject to remain in force.

‘Further breaches will only and inevitably lead to ever longer sentences. The onus is on you to ensure that doesn’t happen.’

Verainer has been held on remand at men’s prison HMP Elmley on the Isle of Sheppey since being arrested.

A further SHPO breach charge and an offence of failing to comply with sex offender notification requirements were left on the court file.

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