Martin Green

Martin Green, a 35-year-old resident of Gerddi Stanley in Beaumaris, Anglesey, appeared at Caernarfon Crown Court on December 5, where he was sentenced for breaching the terms of his sexual harm prevention order (SHPO). Green had previously been convicted in 2019 of attempted sexual communication with a child, resulting in a custodial sentence and the imposition of a 10-year SHPO. The order mandated that he use only internet browsers that retained browsing history and restricted him to police-approved messaging applications.

Prosecutor Catherine Elvin outlined the breaches during the hearing. On July 1, police officers visited Green's home and discovered that he had installed the DuckDuckGo application on his phone, which is designed to delete internet browsing history. Additionally, Green had downloaded the Phone Guardian app, which enhances online privacy and had been active on his device for over four years. He also had WhatsApp installed but had failed to inform the police of this, as required under the SHPO terms.

Following his arrest, Green denied knowledge of the DuckDuckGo app and claimed that Phone Guardian was installed solely to protect his phone from viruses. He admitted to using WhatsApp to contact family members but acknowledged that he should have notified the authorities about the download. Green pleaded guilty to three counts of breaching the SHPO and has only one prior conviction.

Defence representative Paulinus Barnes urged the court to consider Green's early guilty pleas, highlighting his stable accommodation, employment, and efforts to support his wife on a limited income of less than £800 per month from cleaning work, supplemented by Universal Credit.

Judge Nicola Jones described the breaches as deliberate but opted for leniency, stating: 'I think I should suspend your sentence, because you are capable of rehabilitation, and work needs to be done on you to provide protection for the community at large.' Green received a 12-month prison sentence, suspended for 18 months, along with a requirement to complete a 26-session 'Building Choices' programme and 15 days of rehabilitation activity. The case was reported by the North Wales Chronicle, with proceedings held at Caernarfon Crown Court in Wales, United Kingdom.