Gerard Carty, a 77-year-old pensioner from Walsall, has been fined more than £1,300 after being found in breach of a sexual harm prevention order. The order was originally imposed following his conviction for possessing indecent images of children.
Carty was sentenced in February 2020 for three counts of making indecent images of children and was subjected to a sexual harm prevention order that required him to register his electronic devices with police, prohibit certain software installations, and notify authorities of any cloud storage usage.
Last November, West Midlands Police were alerted by the cloud storage provider Dropbox that Carty’s account had reportedly uploaded indecent images of children. Upon investigation, officers found that Carty had not registered his iPhone and iPad, both seized during a search of his home, and that a virtual private network (VPN) had been installed on his devices.
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During a police interview, Carty denied accessing Dropbox since 2018 and explained that he deleted the account after receiving an email indicating it was full. He acknowledged failing to register his devices, citing concern that they would be confiscated. His defence indicated Carty was unaware of the implications of installing a VPN.
The court found no evidence of indecent images on Carty’s devices and no indication that he had accessed such content on this occasion. However, Judge Hobson emphasised that he had disobeyed the terms of the prior court order, describing the fine as a way to ‘teach him a lesson’.
Carty pleaded guilty to three counts of breaching the sexual harm prevention order and was fined £1,200 with an additional £150 in costs at Wolverhampton Crown Court on 3 September.