Nickson Storie

A convicted sex offender from Nelson, Lancashire, has been jailed for breaching the conditions of his sexual offences prevention order (SOPO) and notification requirements, demonstrating a pattern of non-compliance with court orders.

Nickson Storie, 39, of Whitehall Street, Nelson, appeared at Burnley Crown Court on 27 September 2024. He was sentenced to 15 months in prison after admitting to the breaches. The case was prosecuted by Amy Weir, who outlined that Storie had been subject to a SOPO since his 2013 conviction at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court for causing a child under 16 to watch a sexual act. This order prohibited him from using any internet-capable device unless the search history was accessible for monitoring.

During a police check in February 2024, officers discovered no internet activity recorded on Storie's device for approximately six months. Storie confessed to using the device to view pornography in Incognito mode to conceal the activity from others. In separate incidents, he twice refused to provide login details for his Snapchat account, violating his sexual offender notification requirements. Weir described the deletion of search history as deliberate and noted that Storie's offences were aggravated by his extensive history of disobeying court orders.

The court heard that Storie has 14 previous convictions from 32 offences, including nine sex-related offences. These include public indecency in 2003, failure to comply with notification requirements in 2007, sending grossly offensive or obscene messages in 2011, exposure in 2013, two breaches of a SOPO and three failures to comply with notification requirements in 2018, and a breach of a sexual harm prevention order in 2019. Judge Daniel Prowse remarked during sentencing: 'You have demonstrated by committing this offence again that you have learnt nothing from the previous suspended sentence orders.' The judge emphasised that the SOPO was designed to allow proper monitoring of the risk Storie poses to others, which his actions undermined.

Richard English, mitigating, argued for Storie's release after four months on remand, citing the sobering effect of custody and proposing strict conditions. However, Judge Prowse imposed the custodial sentence, highlighting Storie's repeated failures. Lancashire Police conducted the regular checks that uncovered the breaches, as reported in the Lancashire Telegraph on 1 October 2024.