June 2021

Ex-NI health care officer is sentenced for indecent images

A former senior health care officer employed by a Northern Ireland Health Trust has been sentenced for possessing indecent images of children.

Kevin Barry Anderson worked at the Western Health and Social Care Trust at Gransha in Londonderry.

He was sentenced at the city’s Crown Court on Friday after he pleaded guilty to 17 charges of making indecent images of children being sexually abused and guilty to two charges of possessing extreme pornographic images.

August 2020

Sex offender was living with mum and two kids, court told

A convicted sex offender resided with the mother of two young children, without notifying the relevant authorities, it has been claimed.

When the alarm was raised, the woman insisted Steven Michael McCarthy was not there, until he emerged after police pointed out his car was parked at the property.

McCarthy (36), from Norglen Parade, Belfast, allegedly breached a Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO) on July 27 and failed to comply with notification requirements in alerting police to a new address.

He appeared before Dungannon Magistrates Court where a police officer said the charges could be connected.

The officer explained a report was received of McCarthy residing in the Donaghmore area for approximately two months.

On arrival his car was observed outside, which was found to be insured to the address.

The female occupant insisted McCarthy did not reside there, but when police pointed to the car, he eventually appeared.

Following arrest, McCarthy confirmed being aware of the SOPO but insisted he had not changed his address.

While knowing the woman resided at the property with her children, he maintained there was no contact with them until the day prior to his arrest.

McCarthy accepted changing the address for cheaper car insurance, not because he resided there. Police felt this did not make sense as the insurance was changed on July 18, 2020, but brought potential fraud offences if – as McCarthy claims – has no links to that address.

Opposing bail, the officer said, “There is a relevant offending history with a total of 15 convictions, three of which are for sexual activity with a child. If released, police believe he will continue to breach the SOPO, possibly constituting further offences. He may not adhere to orders and there was a previous breach in 2017.”

A defence solicitor conceded McCarthy is subject to the SOPO for a significant period of time and there is a previous breach on record, “of a wholly different nature”, for which he received community service.

In the present matters, he repeated McCarthy accepts being to the Donaghmore address but does not reside there, and instead use it for cheaper insurance than that available to his west Belfast residence.

“It’s not an implausible explanation,” said the defence.

“My client instructs having not changed address there was no requirement to notify police nor was he residing in a house where children were present.”

District Judge John Meehan agreed to bail but with specific terms including electronic tagging. “So his whereabouts can be more assuredly verified, as there is suspicion he has taken up residence at another address entirely,” the judge said.

May 2021

‘Dirty Harry’ caged on child sex charges

Paedophile actor Harry Dickson failed the biggest audition of his life – trying to convince a court that he was innocent of child sex charges.

His performance from the witness box failed to impress a jury which found him guilty of eight counts of molesting a young girl over a three year period.

The only boards the 6ft 4in tall predator, now known as ‘Dirty Harry’ will be treading are those in Maghaberry Prison where he has been caged on remand until his sentencing next month.

April 2021

Jonesborough father-of-four (40) who believed he was travelling to Belfast to meet 13-year-old girl for sex jailed for a year

A father-of four who travelled to Belfast from Co Armagh during lockdown with the intention of having sex with a 13-year old girl has been jailed for a year.

Niall David Muldoon, from Francis Jordan Park in Jonesborough, was handed a three-year sentence after he admitted two charges dating back to last June.

Judge Donna McColgan QC told the 40-year old that he will spend a year of his sentence in prison, followed by a two year period on licence.

During this licence period, Muldoon was told he will participate in the Probation Board’s Horizon programme to address his offending behaviour.

Belfast Crown Court heard that when he was arrested in the car park of the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast where he thought he was meeting a 13-year old. He told police “I have kids of my own … I’m not a paedophile or anything like that.”

Prior to his arrest on June 16 2020, Muldoon embarked on a highly sexualised online conversation with a person he believed was a 13-year old girl called Abbie and which went on over four days.

Muldoon pleaded guilty to attempted sexual communication with ‘Abbie’ between June 11 and June 17 last year, and of attempting to meet a child following sexual grooming on June 16.

During the online chats Muldoon claimed he was 26 – when at the time he was 39.

He also sent images of a sexual nature to ‘Abbie’, requested she send him images in return and made an arrangement to meet her with the intention of having sexual intercourse.

‘Abbie’ was fictitious, and when Muldoon traveled to the arranged meeting in the hospital car park, he was arrested and his mobile was seized.

Requesting that Muldoon be made the subject of a Sexual Offences Prevention Order, Mr Russell said there will be social services intervention regarding Muldoon’s own children.

Defence barrister Thomas O’Keefe branded the offending as “unusual”. He revealed that prior to his arrest, Muldoon’s marriage had broken down after his wife discovered he had been using online chatrooms for adult communication.

Mr O’Keefe said that when Muldoon’s marriage ended, he moved in with his parents and began excessively using alcohol and cannabis.

This, the barrister said, coupled with Muldoon’s loss of employment and the pressures of the pandemic lockdown, contributed to him acting “entirely out of character” and communicating online with ‘Abbie.’

Mr O’Keefe said that since his arrest last June, Muldoon has stopped misusing drink and drugs and has not re-offended.

The barrister concluded by telling Judge McColgan his client “has destroyed everything … he has destroyed the entire family unit.”