Paedophile tried to prevent police monitoring him

Chris Donegan • Published 11 Mar 2010 11:43

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A "devious" paedophile has tried to prevent police being given powers aimed at stopping him from sexually abusing children.

Robert Liddle, of Moorlough Road, Lisnaskea, appeared at Fermanagh Court and objected to being made the subject of a SOPO (Sexual Offences Prevention Order) designed to "protect the public from serious harm".

The 61-year-old retired lorry driver, who now has a bus pass which he uses on a daily basis to travel around the country, objected to being banned from being at bus stops during the two peak hours of the day when they are used by children going to and coming from school.

District Judge Bernadette Kelly said: "I would be concerned that the only reason he wants to be around a bus station during those two hours is so he can be in the company of children."

Liddle also objected to having to request police permission to move house.

The District Judge said that if he moved to somewhere there were children "somebody will drop the hint and before you know it there will be two or three able-bodied men with baseball bats knocking on his door".

She said that if he preferred to move to where he wanted and run the risk of vigilantes burning him in his bed some night that was up to him but in consideration of his right to life under Article 2 of the Human Rights Act she ordered that he gives police seven days notice if he intends to move home and take advice from them about his personal safety.

Liddle has convictions for sexually abusing children as young as six and in 2000 was described as a "high risk" and a "danger to young girls" when he was jailed for two years for indecently assaulting an 11-year-old. At the time he was working as a gardener and offered the girl a ride on his ride-on mower. He asked her if she had tickles and used it as an excuse to put his hand under her T-shirt and touch her breasts.

At the time he was already a convicted child molester with court appearances in 1983 and 1990. On one occasion while working as a gardener he asked a 12-year-old girl if she wanted to help and, while her father was away, touched her clothing and underwear. On another occasion a seven-year-old was in a boat with other children at the Share holiday centre near Lisnaskea when Liddle approached her and touched her privates.

In 1999 he was put on the Sex Offenders' Register for 10 years, giving the PSNI a means of monitoring his movements, but that period elapsed last November and police were anxious to have some other method of keeping an eye on him and applied for a SOPO.

They had already become concerned about his behaviour after an officer from their Public Protection Unit assigned to manage registered sex offenders visited Liddle's home last February 24, to carry out a risk assessment.

According to the application for the SOPO the officer found a number of pornographic DVDs, including three with covers showing young girls exposing their breasts. The theme of the DVDs was "uncle or auntie having sex with their schoolgirl niece", although police accepted there was no evidence that the actors were under-age.

At the bottom of Liddle's bed the officer found "numerous women's knickers, along with five sets of children's knickers and baby socks, cuddly toys and various other pornographic literature".

The officer said Liddle told him he would masturbate into the women's knickers and then dump them.

In light of their findings the police went to court and last May were granted an interim SOPO which among other things banned Liddle from activities involving children without the permission of a designated police officer or enticing children into a vehicle.

He objected to the granting of a full SOPO and the case came to court last week.

Liddle's barrister, Miss Heather Phillips, argued that he was entitled to his human rights and that any restrictions placed upon him should be "necessary and proportionate" and that any risk should be "real" and not hypothetical.

The District Judge pointed out that he was single and had no children and asked why he had baby's clothing in his bedroom.

"Is that not real," she asked.

She said she thought it was "very necessary" that Liddle be banned from having children's clothing or toys as his previous offences involved befriending children "and what better way to do that than with toys?"

She said he should also be prohibited from having any pornographic material featuring or implying that the participants were under-18, such as girls in school uniform.

"He can limit himself to adult pornography," she stated.

Liddle also objected to police being given the power to enter and check his home. The police inspector seeking the SOPO said that if an officer called at the house and Liddle refused him entry, by the time the officer went and got a search warrant and returned to the property, anything that was there would be gone.

Miss Phillips argued that such a power of entry would "give police carte blanch to do what they wanted" and that Liddle was entitled to his human rights.

"This man hasn't committed a criminal offence in 10 years," she stated.

The District Judge said a SOPO was a way of "trying to keep an eye on him and protect potential victims" and suggested he attended for risk assessment.

The police inspector argued that Liddle was devious.

The District Judge replied: "Of course he is devious, he has done this to children."

The inspector said that outside of Fermanagh "nobody knows him or is aware of the dangers posed by him". The difficulty was that he was using public transport every day to travel throughout Ireland and the police needed to know where he was going.

The District Judge urged the inspector and Miss Phillips to "work out a system whereby we can protect the children of Northern Ireland".

After a short adjournment the inspector and Miss Phillips returned to the court with the proposed wording for an amended SOPO.

Miss Phillips said that when Liddle caught the 6.25am bus to Belfast he arrived at 8.25am and that was inside the hour the bus station was busy with children going to school.

The District Judge said she was becoming "increasingly concerned" that he wanted to be there during that time because "he wants to be in the company of children". She also raised the issue of Liddle sitting beside a child on a bus.

Eventually agreement was reached on the terms of the SOPO.

The order, which remains in force for five years, prohibits Liddle from loitering at or within 50 metres of any school, youth club, play grounds or bus stop between 8am and 9am and 3pm and 4pm.

He is not allowed to take part in any activity that gives him access to a child or young person without first obtaining consent from a designated Risk Manager.

He is banned from having any children's clothing or toys or any pornographic material which displays or implies that the participants are under the age of 18 years of age.

He is not allowed or incite a child or young person to be in a motor vehicle in which he is travelling.

He must notify the designated Risk Manager at least 7 days in advance, of a change in his place of residence, with the exception of an emergency, and take any advice offered.

If he works as a lorry driver he must provide the Risk Manager with a schedule of proposed routes on the island of Ireland and notify him if he intends to leave the country.

If Liddle breaches any of the conditions of the SOPO he can be jailed for up to five years.

This article appeared in Impartial Reporter 11 Mar 10

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