A registered sex offender received a hefty fine for failing to report interstate travel and lying about his whereabouts to police.

The 42-year-old Warrnambool man appeared at Wangaratta Magistrates’ Court on Monday where he accepted a sentence indication for a number of court order and sex offender list breaches.

The court heard the man had been placed on the registered six offenders list for eight years in a 2024 sentence.

As part of being on the registered list and 18-month community corrections order the man was required to report any interstate travel to authorities.

On several occasion over a 59-day period between May and July 2024, the man travelled from where he was staying in Porepunkah to see his partner in Mount Gambier, South Australia.

He reported his travel, but spent several more days in Mount Gambier than indicated to authorities.

He also lied to police about his whereabouts when replying to emails checking in on his location.

Police were able to pinpoint his location using phone data records.

He was arrested in September and told police he had often left his phone with his partner in NSW and taken hers, because it had more data.

Further investigations found he had lied about that also, with his partner’s phone never leaving South Australia.

Defence counsel Raf Aviles said his client was in a time of instability and mixed-up dates as he reported travel to police and struggled juggling communication obligations.

Magistrate Megan Casey did not accept a simple mix-up as an excuse.

“You’ve been telling them one thing but doing another,” she said.

“While you were between those two locations, they didn’t know where you were or when at any given time."

Mr Aviles said his client had found secure housing and employment in New South Wales and compliance with the court orders was no longer an issue.

Magistrate Casey fined the man $2000 with conviction.