In 2018, the Offender Database recorded that 36-year-old Andrew Dolman was jailed for 16 months after forming a relationship with a single mother while concealing his true identity and criminal history. Dolman—of Cecil Road, Boscombe, Bournemouth—was sentenced at Bournemouth Crown Court following his admission to breaching a Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO) and failing to comply with sex offender notification requirements. It was reported that the investigation began after Dolman met the Dorset woman on the dating site Plenty of Fish under the alias “Andy Wood.”
The investigation established that Dolman, a high-risk sex offender, was in a relationship with the woman for approximately two and a half months without disclosing his past convictions for abusing two girls and an adult woman. Bournemouth Crown Court heard that the victim believed Dolman had previously been in prison for football-related violence. The prosecution reported that during the relationship, Dolman was briefly left alone with the woman’s children while she went to the shops, although it was accepted he did not form the relationship with the specific intention of abusing them.
Judicial Findings and Investigative Detail
The court reported that Dolman has a history of disobedience regarding court orders, having been jailed for 10 months in 2017 for similar deceptive behaviour. Bournemouth Crown Court heard that the defendant’s criminal record includes the indecent assault of a young girl in Warwickshire in 2000, as well as having sex with a 14-year-old girl and detaining a child in West Dorset in 2012. The investigation established that the Probation Service assessed Dolman as an unmanageable risk in the community due to his persistent unwillingness to comply with legal restrictions.
Judge Peter Crabtree presided over the sentencing, stating that the likelihood of Dolman reoffending and the risk of serious harm were both high. For his actions in Boscombe and Bournemouth, Dolman was handed a 16-month prison sentence. The judge noted that the notification requirements are in place for the vital purpose of protecting young females and children, warning the defendant that compliance with such orders is not optional.
Status and Statutory Requirements
For the records reported in Dorset, the status of Andrew Dolman as of April 6, 2026, was as follows:
- Custodial Status: RELEASED (Served 16-month term; sentenced 2018; released on licence circa 2019).
- Sex Offenders Register: Notification requirements are active for life.
- SOPO/SHPO Status: Sexual Offences Prevention Order (or subsequent SHPO) active for life.
- MAPPA Category: Managed under Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements as a high-risk offender.
- DBS Status: Placed on the Barring List (Indefinite ban on working with children).
- Legal Status: CONVICTED (Breach of SOPO; Failure to comply with notification requirements; Multiple counts).
- Judicial Oversight: Sentenced at Bournemouth Crown Court; investigated by Dorset Police.
- Criminal Record: Historical abuse of two girls and an adult woman; Multiple breaches of notification laws; Use of aliases on dating sites.
- Origin: Cecil Road, Boscombe, Bournemouth, Dorset.
Monitoring and Public Protection
Dolman is managed as a maximum-risk registered sex offender within the Boscombe area following his release from prison. Due to the nature of his conduct—specifically his pattern of using aliases to target women with children—his management is a critical priority for the Dorset Police Public Protection Unit. Authorities state that his history of lying about his identity to bypass the “Clare’s Law” style protections for parents makes him a persistent threat to public safety.
As a registered sex offender for life, the then 36-year-old’s details are permanently logged on the national police database. Authorities state that his notification requirements strictly mandate the disclosure of any intimate relationship to his supervising officer. Any failure to notify police of his movements in Bournemouth, any use of unauthorized aliases online, or any further attempts to form relationships with parents without disclosure will result in immediate arrest and recall to prison to ensure the ongoing safety of the public from his demonstrated pattern of deception and abuse.
QUESTION – Given that the offender used a dating app alias to successfully bypass the notification requirements intended to protect families, do you believe that “Mandatory Digital Identity Verification” should be a legal requirement for all users on UK-based dating platforms?
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