Man (46) pleads guilty to attempted 'sexual communication' with 'decoy' who was pretending to be a child
A man has pleaded guilty to attempting to have a 'sexual communication' with a 'decoy' who was pretending to be a child.
Richard Steele (46), with an address previously listed as near Ballymena, was at the town's Magistrates Court on Thursday. He has pleaded guilty to the two charges he faces.
The first charge is that between March 4 and April 4 2025 'for the purpose of obtaining sexual gratification intentionally attempted to communicate with a person under 16 years, the communication being sexual or intended to encourage the said ... to make a communication that was sexual, and you did not reasonably believe that ... was 16 years or over'.
The second charge is that between March 4 and March 6 2025 'for the purpose of sexual gratification attempted to intentionally cause a child under 16 years to look at an image of a person engaging in sexual activity and that you did not reasonably believe her to be aged 16 or over'.
A defence barrister said a number of references about the defendant were being submitted to the court. He said it is a "decoy case".
The court heard a Sexual Offences Prevention Order may be made when the case is back in court in mid-March.
The defendant is on continuing bail. The lawyer said there had been "extensive media coverage" in the case.
He said "a considerable degree of offensive material" had been sent "to the previous address where he lived at" and that has been "referred to the police".
He added: "His address has changed. I just want that on the record." The new address was not outlined to the court.