Alleged paedophile confronted by 'hostile crowd' in Ballymena is granted bail
A man confronted by 'paedophile hunters' in a 'sting operation' in Ballymena has been granted bail.
William Sempey (47), of Staffa Drive in Ballymena, is charged with attempting to have a sexual communication with a child on July 9 this year.
On Thursday he appeared at Ballymena Magistrates Court via video link from prison where he has been on remand.
A prosecutor told an earlier court that as part of the investigation police have "social media of the 'sting'."
The prosecutor said the file is to be assigned to the PSNI's Child Internet Protection Team.
A previous court was told a "hostile crowd" gathered outside the defendant's address. A "sting" by a so-called paedophile hunter group was livestreamed on the internet.
Objecting to bail at the earlier court, a police officer said that around 8pm on Friday August 8 police received a number of reports a "paedophile hunter group" was in the Ballykeel area of Ballymena and was "confronting" a male.
The group livestreamed proceedings on the internet. The male was accused of being a paedophile. A "hostile crowd" gathered.
A person had previously pretended to be a 14-year-old girl and the defendant had sent sexual messages and photographs, it was alleged. Screenshots were supplied to police.
At Thursday's court a police officer said a phone triage could take several months and it "could take up to 18 months to progress the file".
District Judge Nigel Broderick said he was not going to keep someone on remand in custody for 18 months awaiting a phone report.
The officer said that was one of the main reasons why bail was unopposed subject to a suitable address. The officer said there was a "safeguarding" issue regarding the defendant's safety and "we wouldn't advise sending him back to his current address".
The case was adjourned to December 16. The defendant was given bail in the sum of £500 to an address to be approved by police and he not to have any device with access to internet.