Sex offender who has breached a Sexual Offences Prevention Order 34 times is jailed
A SEX offender who has now breached a Sexual Offences Prevention Order 34 times has been jailed.
Richard McFarland (57), with an address at Stable Court in Antrim town, committed his latest two breaches on September 30 this year.
He pleaded guilty to having a Smartwatch without informing his designated risk manager; and he also admitted deleting internet history.
A third charge on the charge sheet before the court - breaching a SOPO by using an alias - was withdrawn by prosecutors.
The defendant appeared at Antrim Magistrates' Court, sitting in Ballymena on Tuesday, via video link from prison where he had been on remand since the start of October.
A prosecutor said the defendant is a Category 2 registered sex offender subject to unannounced visits from police.
The court was told the defendant's risk manager attended the defendant's home address and within the ‘gallery’ of a device was an image of two females.
The prosecutor said the image showed as having been saved from WhatsApp and it was suspected a WhatsApp conversation had been deleted by the defendant who was prohibited from deleting his internet history.
The prosecutor said further checks on the device showed an "online alias" on Facebook.
A defence barrister said the defendant is a loner who "reaches out via internet".
The lawyer said the defendant is an alcoholic with drug issues and whilst it was not an excuse the reality was, the barrister said, that it was a "perfect storm" for somebody to not abide by a SOPO.
He said the defendant has no family support and he doesn't have any friends or social circle.
District Judge Nigel Broderick said the defendant had previously breached a SOPO 32 times and said he was "flabbergasted" that prosecutors had not decided to send the latest case to the Crown Court. He asked: "How many times does somebody have to breach a SOPO before the prosecution take him to the Crown Court? Does it have to be 50 times?" The prosecutor said she would note the judge's comments. The judge said he did not believe he had ever seen a person with so many breaches. Judge Broderick said he had no control over the decision whether to keep the case in the Magistrates' Court - where the maximum sentence for a single charge was six months or take it to the Crown Court where there is a maximum five year sentence - as that decision was down to the Public Prosecution Service. He said McFarland should be in the Crown Court as his sentencing powers for such a sheer level of offending were insufficient. He said the maximum he could give for one charge was six months and he was obliged to give a discount for a guilty plea. The judge said they were serious offences and said that on the face of it there was evidence the defendant had been communicating with young females. The judge said he was handing down four months on each of the two charges before the court but ordered for them to be served consecutively making a total of eight months.