'I won't be surprised to see you again' - Judge's shocking message to rapist as he walks free

A judge told a sex offender he would not be 'surprised' if he saw the man again - on the same day he was allowed to walk free from court.

Ellis Cunningham had been on a last minute trip to Amsterdam which nearly landed him in prison. The 26-year-old is a convicted rapist who sexually abused a girl he had met on Facebook.

On Friday morning (September 22), Cunningham appeared before Liverpool Crown Court. Joshua Sanderson-Kirk, prosecuting, described how Ellis was handed a 24-month imprisonment suspended for 10 years, as well as a 10-year sexual harm prevention order and a notification requirement last the same period.

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Cunningham was convicted of rape in 2016 after having sexual activity with a 12-year-old girl following contact on social media network.

The second part of his order requires him to notify police of any foreign travel at least a week prior to departure. But the force was alerted that he had re-entered the country on February 13 this year after spending four days in Amsterdam.

Cunningham, of Burley Close in Kirkby, later made a "full and frank admission" after voluntarily attending a police station, reports the Echo. He has eight previous convictions for nine offences, including breaching the requirements of the sex offenders' register on six occasions in 2017, 2018, and 2021 which have seen him serve short prison sentences on several occasions.

The court was told that he had obtained his passport only five weeks before his visit to the Netherlands, and that the defendant claimed he had only been invited onto the trip abroad at five