Wayne Truter, 53, who was released early from HMP Leyhill after serving five years for sexual offenses against three boys, received the compensation following a successful judicial review.
Truter was subject to stringent conditions under the Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA). These included a 7pm to 7am curfew and mandatory reporting to a probation hostel three times daily. These reporting times were set at 10am, 1pm, and 4pm to avoid local schoolchildren during their commutes.
He also had his passport confiscated, preventing him from serving his licence period in South Africa, a country where he holds dual nationality. Truter argued that these additional licence conditions unlawfully restricted his freedoms.
His initial pleas were dismissed by his probation officer and the Parole Board. However, a High Court judge agreed that the conditions, particularly the confiscation of his passport and the restrictive curfew, were unlawfully imposed, constituting a breach of Article 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR), the right to respect for private life.
The judge concluded that Truter had endured 'false imprisonment' and awarded him damages of £2,500. The judge noted that Truter possessed a greater understanding of the justice system than some probation officers, citing instances where Truter correctly pointed out legal inaccuracies in the conditions imposed.
Truter had stayed at an approved premises from September 2019 until January 2020. The judge ruled that Truter's subsequent recall to prison for refusing an inspection of his electronic device was appropriate and dismissed his claim for 'deprivation of liberty'.
Truter was originally jailed for eight years at St Albans Crown Court in October 2014 for grooming and sexually abusing three boys between 2009 and 2013. He groomed the boys, aged 12, 14, and 15, by giving them gifts before inviting them to his home.