A CONVICTED Carlisle sex offender illegally used a computer which was not equipped with police monitoring software.

The city’s Rickergate court heard that Darren Paul McGuinness, 45, was made the subject of a strict Sexual Harm Prevention Order after he was convicted in 2011 of downloading indecent images of children.

The court order prohibited him from using any internet connected device that does not have police monitoring software.

The court heard how the defendant, of Fairfield Gardens, Carlisle, was allowed to use a computer when he attended a unemployed persons’ support group in Carlisle city centre.

On September 12 last year, he went to the group. After he left, a worker discovered that the defendant had used the computer for both job hunting and also for using Facebook and researching caravan sites in Blackpool, he said.

The defendant admitted breaching his Sexual Harm Prevention Order by doing this. He had flouted the order on four previous occasions, the court heard.

Jeff Smith, for McGuinness, said the defendant was unable to use his own laptop because of the police monitoring software and he had asked the police to help him overcome that problem.

The lawyer said: “He used the computer for entirely innocent purposes.” He had planned to take a relative for a caravan holiday in Blackpool for his birthday.

The lawyer added: “He hasn’t been able to get employment because as soon as he discloses his previous convictions, employers are no longer interested.”

District Judge Gerald Chalk told McGuinness: “This has been a deliberate breach of the order, although I accept there is no evidence to suggest [the computer] was used for inappropriate purposes.”

The judge imposed a 120-day jail but suspended the sentence for a year. McGuinness must do 100 hours of unpaid work in the community. He imposed costs of £85 and a £120 victim surcharge.

The judge added: “Any further offence in the next 12 months is likely to trigger the 120 days prison.”