Northwich man jailed for breaching sexual harm prevention order

A convicted sex offender has been jailed after he admitted breaching his sexual harm prevention order.

Stephen Bushell appeared at Chester Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday 1st September where he was sentenced to 12 months in prison.

The 59-year-old had earlier pleaded guilty to five counts of breaching a sexual harm prevention order, one count of sexual assault and one count of stalking.

Bushell was originally issued with a ten-year sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) in March 2018 for previous offences.

Under the terms of the order, he was banned from having children under 16 at his home on School Lane, Lostock Gralam, and also banned from engaging in conversations with any females not known to him.

However, between 20th June 2026 and 3rd July 2026, Bushell repeatedly breached the order when he started to engage with a 17-year-old girl.

The teenager described how Bushell approached her while she was travelling on the railway network in Northwich.

Initially he would just engage in conversation with the girl, however as time progressed, he began to stalk the victim, purposefully waiting for her at the station. On one occasion he also unwantedly hugged her.

The matter was reported to Cheshire Police and Bushell was promptly arrested and charged.

Following the sentencing, Detective Constable Sophie Ward, of Northwich CID, said:

“Bushell was well aware of the conditions of his SHPO, but he purposefully chose to ignore them.

"His actions have had a lasting impact on the victim, who had to change her routine to avoid Bushell and no longer feels safe travelling on the railway network.

“Thankfully, he has now been held accountable for his actions. While the victim will never be able to forget what he did, I do hope that the sentence given to Bushell will provide the victim with some reassurance.“

Pictured - Stephen Bushell.