In February 2019, the Offender Database reported that Phillip John Kirk, then 25, of no fixed address, was sentenced to 28 months in prison at York Crown Court. Kirk, a confessed and “very dangerous” predator, was returned to jail within weeks of his release on parole after he was found researching local schools and evading police monitoring while living yards from a primary school.
The court heard that Kirk had been released on January 2, 2019, as part of an eight-year extended sentence for the possession of indecent images. He was placed at the Southview probation hostel on Boroughbridge Road—located within 250 yards of Poppleton Road Primary School. Despite a lifelong Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) that banned him from coming within 100 metres of any primary school, Kirk immediately began circumventing authorities. On January 21, staff searched his room and found an illicit smartphone equipped with “hiding” software and user accounts intended to block police surveillance.
The investigation revealed that Kirk had compiled handwritten lists of independent girls’ schools, nurseries, and primary schools in York. His internet search history included terms such as “nude kids,” “clothing for girls in York,” and “schools in York.” Kirk’s criminal history, which includes 56 previous convictions, revealed a deep-seated and persistent sexual interest in children. In 2015, it was disclosed that he had burgled a school specifically to steal a child’s uniform for sexual gratification. He also gained notoriety for writing to Theresa May during her time as Home Secretary, advocating for the legalisation of sex with children.
Jailing him for the SHPO breaches, Judge Simon Hickey classified Kirk as a “very dangerous individual.” While his defence team argued that his plans had been “nipped in the bud” before any physical contact occurred, the prosecution highlighted the speed with which he returned to predatory behaviour. Kirk pleaded guilty to two counts of breaching his SHPO.
Phillip John Kirk was sentenced to 28 months in prison. He was also recalled to continue serving the remainder of his original 2015 sentence. As a result of his lifelong predatory record, Kirk remains a registered sex offender for life and is managed under the highest level of Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) in York and North Yorkshire.
This framework ensures that upon any future release, the National Probation Service and North Yorkshire Police maintain intensive, 24-hour monitoring of his location and digital activity. Kirk’s permanent SHPO remains in place, strictly prohibiting him from entering exclusion zones near schools and mandating the full disclosure of all internet-enabled devices to police.
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