Sex offender from Portadown met man on Grindr app, Craigavon court told

Lee Harper, aged 29, of Edward Street, Portadown appeared from Magilligan Prison via videolink at Craigavon Magistrates Court on Friday charged with breaching a Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO).-

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A prosecutor told the court that on May 19 this year, police received a statement from a prison officer.

“The defendant was in prison at the time. That statement outlined that the defendant had requested that a number of individuals be added to his Telio account (prison phone system),” said the prosecutor, adding that one man’s name was queried and the defendant described him as a ‘friend’.

"Thereafter the prison made contact with this individual who stated he had met the defendant via the Grindr dating app. The defendant accepted he had met up with this individual on two occasions prior to being in custody and that he had used that particular app. That placed him in breach of a number of conditions of the SOPO of which he is subject to, entering into relationships and use of devices and so forth. He was interviewed and provided no comment to questions asked.”

His solicitor said the incident occurred in early 2021. “His record isn’t great and for the same type of offending,” he told the court.

District Judge Bernie Kelly said: “That’s part of the problem with not cooperating with these orders. These orders are in place for a reason. When you look at his record you can obviously see the reason.”

Harper’s solicitor said his client had been in custody for a ‘considerable period’ due to the recall of his licence. “His release date is October 2023 and he is working hard towards that.”

However District Judge Kelly said: “He hasn’t really learned an awful lot given that his offending has been going on now for somewhere in the order of 12 years. And there has been no change.”

Harper’s solicitor said it was a guilty plea at the earliest opportunity.

“Given his current custodial status there is only one sentence I can impose,” said the district judge who imposed a four months jail sentence to run concurrently with the defendant’s current sentence.