Daniel Howard

Daniel Howard, a 73-year-old man from Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, was sentenced at Hull Crown Court for repeatedly breaching his sexual harm prevention order by using Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) to conceal his online activities from police oversight.

Howard had a long history of sexual offences. In 2015, he was given a 10-year sexual harm prevention order—previously known as a sexual offences prevention order—following convictions for nine offences of making indecent images of children at Grimsby Crown Court. He received a suspended prison sentence at that time. In 2016, he was convicted again for three further offences of making indecent images and for breaching the original order, which activated his suspended sentence. Most recently, in 2021, Howard was imprisoned for 21 months after being found guilty of two counts of making indecent images of children, as well as possessing prohibited and extreme images.

The breaches in this case occurred on 18 September, 30 October, and twice on 8 February. One key condition of Howard's updated sexual harm prevention order, imposed on 17 April 2023 at Grimsby Crown Court, prohibited him from using VPNs, which mask a device's IP address and prevent monitoring of internet activity. Despite this, police discovered VPN software installed on a laptop and another device during a visit to his home on Hindon Walk, Scunthorpe.

• During a police interview on 18 December, Howard admitted using the VPN to access adult pornography and bypass viewing restrictions.
• He repeated this claim on 8 February, insisting he was only watching legal adult content.

Prosecutor Amber Hobson described the incidents as 'a persistent breach' during the hearing at Hull Crown Court. No indecent material was found on the devices, as noted by defence counsel Benjamin Donnell, who acknowledged that Howard understood the order's purpose in managing his risk and warned that continued breaches would lead to longer prison terms.

Judge Alexander Menary highlighted the seriousness of the offences, stating that the VPN enabled Howard to 'bypass software intended to monitor his internet use' and access the internet more freely. He described it as 'a persistent breach over the course of a number of months,' noting that Howard's online activities could not be monitored as a result. Howard was sentenced to 16 months in prison, and a deprivation order was made for his electronic devices.

The case was reported by Grimsby Live, with court reporting by Mark Naylor, based on proceedings at Hull Crown Court on 4 April 2024. Humberside Police were involved in the investigation and provided the image of Howard in custody.