A man has been jailed for breaching a sexual offences prevention order (SOPO) by accessing public library computers.
Andrew George Tinsley, 48, was sentenced to one year in jail for “repeatedly flouting” the SOPO.
Tinsley, of Ballynahinch Road in Hillsborough, was convicted in June 2021 of possessing voyeurism images and indecent images on his phone.
He was ordered not to access computers or the internet without prior approval.
His designated risk manager (DRM) must give him approval.
Belfast Crown Court heard on Wednesday that the images found on his phone consisted of 21 movies “depicting indecent images of children” and 140 images related to adult males.
‘Deliberate flouting’
He breached his SOPO on 26 November 2022 and 15 February 2023 by visiting libraries in Armagh, Ballynahinch, Banbridge, Belfast, Lisburn, Lurgan, Newry and Portadown and using the library computers, the court heard.
Tinsley had previously breached his SOPO on four occasions between April and September 2022, for which he received a suspended sentence.
He claimed he had prior approval from his DRM to go to the libraries, as per his SOPO, but his DRM denied this happened.
A prosecution lawyer said his actions were the “repeated and deliberate flouting of a court order” which “deliberately” breached his SOPO.
Tinsley’s lawyer said the defendant looked at “entirely harmless” news websites on the public library computers.
Judge Philip Gilpin said the custody threshold had been passed and that Tinsley’s offending was repeated and deliberate.
He sentenced Tinsley to 12 months in jail and told him he would remain the subject of a SOPO until June 2026.
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