Man attempted to have 'sexual communication' with person pretending to be an 11-year-old girl in 'decoy' case

Gary Currie, formerly with an address in Parkgate near Templepatrick, but now listed as Gravelhill Road near Lisburn, also admitted attempting to cause a child to engage in 'sexual activity'.

He has also pleaded guilty to a third charge - distributing an indecent photograph of a child. The charges relate to September 9 -12 in 2023.

The accused was present at Antrim Magistrates Court, sitting in Ballymena.

A prosecutor told an earlier hearing it was a "decoy case".

Also at an earlier court a defence solicitor said the accused had been working at a "hot food counter" but his "employment came to an end through ill-health".

A prosecutor told the court this week Bedfordshire Police contacted the PSNI to say a law enforcement operative posing as a decoy as an 11-year-old girl was in contact with the defendant who had a profile in a different name.

Currie said he was "seeking dirty things". Explicit images were sent by him.

A defence barrister said the defendant had written a letter to the court for the judge to read.

The barrister said the defendant – who works in the IT industry – "fully appreciates the severity of the situation he is in".

He said the defendant had no record; was accompanied to court by a family member and is "fortunate that he lives with his girlfriend" who is "fully aware" of the court appearance and "he is very fortunate that she is prepared to stand by him".

The barrister said Currie "had to move house because of media internet fascination with this type of offending and the identification of those who are brought before the court".

The barrister said he was not making the point to dismiss culpability but at the time of the offence Currie was "under the influence of cannabis and drink" which had perhaps distorted "his version of reality".

He said the internet world was often seen as somewhere to do things "without actually owning it" but "he certainly knows he is in the real world now because he is standing in the dock facing very serious charges".

The court was told the defendant has stopped drinking and taking drugs and the barrister said he was assessed as a "low risk" of reoffending.

He said Probation in such a case should not be seen as a "soft option" because whilst it was for rehabilitation, if Currie did not comply he would be re-sentenced.

District Judge Natasha Fitzsimons said thankfully it was a decoy but it could have been a real child.

She said such cases should be dealt with in the Crown Court.

The defendant was put in the court cells for almost an hour whilst the judge said she wished to reflect on sentencing.

When the defendant was brought back to court the judge said they were "very serious offences" but she was "only just persuaded" to not send him to jail given his age, clear record and early guilty plea.

As well as the two-year Probation Order the defendant was put on the Sex Offenders Register for five years and made the subject of a five-year Sexual Offences Prevention Order.