A SEX offender who was jailed in 2012 for persuading an underage girl to perform sex acts on an animal has tried to get an order against him lifted.

Peter Phillips, 59, from Newport, was jailed in 2012 after he posed online as a teenage boy to make secret recordings of a 15-year-old girl performing sex acts in front of her webcam.

Phillips, of Cromwell Road, was released on licence but his case was back at Newport Crown Court today in a bid to get a sexual offences order made against him shortened.

The lifelong order bans him from living with or having unsupervised contact with any under-18s.

But prosecutor Caroline Rees said the order protects the public from a “very dangerous offender” and there was “no real argument” why Phillips needed it changed.

Andrew Morse, representing Phillips, said he wants to have an end-date for the order so he can “look forward” to it and for contact with his grandchildren in the future.

But judge David Wynn Morgan, who said he remembered the case well when he dealt with it nearly four years ago, said the application was “premature”.

Phillips was described as “cruel, cunning and deceitful” when he was sentenced in 2012.

The court heard how Phillips spoke online with the victim after meeting her on a website for 13 to 17 year olds. He was pretending to be a 15-year-old boy called Mick Richardson.

In one case, Phillips told the victim she had to prove her love for him by performing sex acts on a dog in front of the webcam.

The court yesterday heard how Phillips had pleaded guilty to two counts of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, 20 counts of making indecent photos of a child, one count of possessing indecent images and one of distributing indecent images.

He was initially jailed for six years and eight months but his sentence was later changed to five years and six months following an appeal.

Judge Wynn Morgan said until his licence period comes to an end, or if it can be shown he is “no longer as dangerous as he was”, a time limit for the order can not be set.

He said: “At the moment he will have to live as it is. I don’t think, respectfully, that it’s particularly onerous.”