Sean Royle, a sex offender from Maidstone, has been sentenced to imprisonment for violating a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SPHO) and clandestinely utilising a mobile phone to attempt to groom a 13-year-old girl.
In 2021, Sean Royle was issued a suspended sentence due to offences that encompassed the possession of obscene photographs of minors.
Kent Police report that the sentencing included a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO), which imposed several stringent procedures and limits regarding his internet usage.
Sean Royle was required to inform the police of any gadgets he utilised, including phones and laptops.
The provisions mandated Sean Royle to inform the police of any alterations in circumstances, including a change of address or any interaction with youngsters.
In July 2023, checks established Sean Royle was in a relationship with a woman with young children, but he had not disclosed this to Kent Police and was arrested.
An investigation led to the identification of a phone number linked to him, which police say was being used secretly to access social media accounts.
One of these accounts was a Snapchat profile, which on 1 September was used by Sean Royle to contact a child living outside of Kent.
Kent Police say he established the victim was 13, and after revealing he was almost three times her age, told her he wanted to ‘kiss and hug her.’
Sean Royle, of Claremont Road, Maidstone, asked her to be his girlfriend and sent a picture to the child showing his face and naked upper torso which had a distinctive tattoo – the victim told her father who contacted the police.
He was arrested again on 29 November 2023, when officers were able to locate and seize the phone he had been using to contact the child.
When the device was analysed it was found to contain almost 200 illegal videos and images.
The 37-year-old was charged with multiple offences, including engaging in sexual communication with a child, failing to comply with notification requirements, repeated breaches of a sexual harm prevention order, and making indecent images of children.
Sean Royle pleaded guilty and on Thursday 21 November 2024, was sentenced to three years and eight months, and was subjected to a new ten-year SHPO.
PC Dan McNary said: “Sean Royle had been given every opportunity to engage in rehabilitation and was subject to strict measures designed to reduce the risk of him reoffending.
“He has been unable to adhere to these restrictions and has demonstrated a clear determination to access the internet, in order to contact and abuse children.
“When we seized his phone, it was also clear Sean Royle had been was accessing material which showed some of the worst offences against children imaginable, with many young victims suffering appalling abuse.
“Sexual harm prevention orders such as these are passed by the courts to help protect children from harm and as this case shows, we will do everything we can to ensure those who ignore them face the consequences of their actions.”
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