Larne man (79) breached Sexual Offences Prevention Order by having phone capable of accessing internet
A 79-year-old man convicted sex offender who breached a ten-year Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO) by being in possession of a mobile phone capable of accessing the internet has been given a suspended prison sentence.
John MacCauley, originally from Larne but with an address listed as Galgorm Road in Ballymena, had an internet-enabled phone between April 1 and May 28 this year.
He was in the dock at Ballymena Magistrates Court on Thursday. He had a criminal record including being jailed in connection with the death of a woman who was murdered in Larne in the 1970s.
In another case, the defendant was made the subject of the ten-year-long SOPO in 2021 when he was put on Probation for two years for possessing indecent images of children. He had also been put on the sex offenders' register for five years.
As part of the SOPO he was prohibited from using any internet-enabled device unless approved by his designated risk manager and he did not have such permission for the mobile phone.
Due to the SOPO he was visited by police to ensure compliance and on May 28 he had a smart phone with internet access.
When interviewed the defendant said he was unaware a condition of his SOPO was not to have a mobile phone.
A defence barrister said the defendant "suffers from poor health and had been referred to the Community Mental Health Team". He said the defendant wished to apologise.
The lawyer said a family member bought the defendant the phone "because of poor connectivity" regarding an older phone. The barrister told the court the defendant was unaware of the internet-capability of the new phone.
"There is no suggestion by the police that his phone or internet capability was used for nefarious reasons," the defence told the court.
The lawyer said that subsequent discussions indicated MacCauley would be allowed to hold such a phone "if his internet access could be monitored".
The barrister said a pre-season report described the defendant as a "low likelihood of re-offending".
The defendant was given a three months prison term, suspended for 18 months.