James McGuire, a convicted paedophile from Sunderland, has been summoned before a judge for establishing a fictitious identity on a football forum and erasing his online history.
In January of the previous year, James McGuire received a suspended sentence for possessing indecent photographs of minors and severe pornography. The 40-year-old was placed on the sex offenders register for a duration of 10 years and was subjected to a sexual harm prevention order, which mandates compliance with specific conditions, including the prohibition of removing any internet surfing data.
But on Thursday, James McGuire, of Eglington Tower, Monkwearmouth, Sunderland, appeared back at Newcastle Crown Court after breaching the sexual harm prevention order and failing to comply with notification requirements between January 11 and March 21, last year.
Kevin Wardlaw, prosecuting, said James McGuire’s breaches came to light when police officers carried out a routine check of his mobile phone. He said: “They discovered the defendant had deleted his entire internet history from that device. The failing to comply offences relate to two pseudonyms.” Mr Wardlaw said James McGuire also used “false names” online, one of which was on a football forum and another on an Instagram account.
The court heard that nothing illegal had been deleted by James McGuire and he said he had been accessing adult pornography on his mobile and deleted the history to prevent his daughter from seeing it.
In mitigation, the court was told that James McGuire had been accessing a Sunderland football club forum under the name “Jimmy Riddle”. Mr Pickford, defending, said: “On these forums you’re encouraged to use usernames rather than actual names. The last post he put on (the forum) was about Metro disruptions.” He added that James McGuire was a “hard working man” who had been “ostracised” by members of his family since his conviction and used a different name on Instagram so that he could stay informed about his daughter.
Recorder Paul Reid said James McGuire had a conviction for “very unpleasant offences” and sentenced him to 10 months prison, suspended for 18 months.
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