A CARLISLE man has been banned indefinitely from having any contact with girls who are aged under 18.

Darrel Stephen Carter, 28, said he opposed the Sexual Risk Harm Order when he appeared at the city’s Rickergate court, but he accepted that he did not dispute the evidence submitted by Cumbria Constabulary.

But District Judge Gerald Chalk told the defendant: “You have had inappropriate relationships with girls between 2012 and 2019 so why should I not make the order?”

The defendant argued that there was no need to make the order because of other ongoing legal proceedings but District Judge Chalk told him: “I am making an indefinite order.”

The order prohibits not only physical contact with girls aged under 18; it also forbids the defendant from making contact with such persons via electronic forms of communication, including through social media platforms.

The defendant – whose home city is Carlisle – is currently being held at Durham Prison.

No details of the evidence submitted by the police were aired in court.

Sexual Risk Harm Orders are civil orders but breaching one would be a criminal offence.