Sunderland man breached sexual harm prevention order by failing to show police computer tower

Thomas Worley, 32, of Toward Road in Hendon, was made subject of the order in June last year, which was to run for five years.

Part of the order was to disclose to police any devices he has that he could use to access the internet.

South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court heard that police visited Worley this June to check his devices and browser history and found no problems with his laptop or mobile phone.

However, the defendant contacted the police the following morning when he remembered a tower computer that he hadn’t used for a long time and to see if they wanted to check it. He again contacted them on the same afternoon.

Glenda Beck, prosecuting said: “On June 16 he was visited and officers were able to recover that undisclosed computer.”

She said Worley told police he had been receiving help for depression and had forgotten about the tower when they visited.

Worley admitted the breach of failing to disclose the devise when the police first visited.

Alastair Nasmith, defending, said: “The police came to his home, he has simply forgotten about the tower.

“He remembers that evening and does what you would think the courts and the police would want him to do, he contacted them to say I forgot about this do you want to come round and check it. Not once, but twice.

“There’s a gap of two weeks where the police do nothing.”

He said they then picked his client up off the streets and took him into custody.

Mr Naismith went on to say: “If he had sat on his hands and thought ‘I forgot about that and I just won’t tell them’ then police would never have known.

“He did everything he could to rectify it as soon as possible.”

For failing to disclose the computer Worley was fined £80 and ordered to pay £85 costs and a £32 victim surcharge.