Andrew George Tinsley

Andrew George Tinsley, 48, from Ballynahinch Road in Hillsborough, Northern Ireland, has been sentenced to 12 months in jail for breaching a Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO). The order was imposed following his conviction in June 2021 for possessing indecent images, including 21 movies depicting indecent images of children and 140 images related to adult males, found on his phone. As part of the SOPO, Tinsley was prohibited from accessing computers or the internet without prior approval from his designated risk manager (DRM).

Belfast Crown Court heard that Tinsley deliberately flouted the order on multiple occasions. He breached it on 26 November 2022 and 15 February 2023 by using public library computers in Armagh, Ballynahinch, Banbridge, Belfast, Lisburn, Lurgan, Newry, and Portadown. This was not his first violation; between April and September 2022, he had breached the SOPO four times, resulting in a suspended sentence. Tinsley claimed he had obtained prior approval from his DRM to visit the libraries, but the DRM denied giving any such permission.

A prosecution lawyer described Tinsley's actions as the 'repeated and deliberate flouting of a court order', emphasising that the breaches were intentional. In his defence, Tinsley's lawyer argued that the defendant only accessed 'entirely harmless' news websites on the library computers. However, Judge Philip Gilpin ruled that the custody threshold had been met due to the repeated and deliberate nature of the offending. He sentenced Tinsley to 12 months' imprisonment and confirmed that the SOPO would remain in place until June 2026.

The case, reported by the BBC on 7 November 2024, highlights ongoing efforts to monitor individuals subject to sexual offence prevention measures in Northern Ireland. Tinsley appeared at Belfast Crown Court on Wednesday, where the full details of his breaches were outlined.