Neil McLean, a 44-year-old man formerly employed at Asda and residing in Cuthbert House, Gateshead, has a long history of sexual offences against children and repeated breaches of court orders. His criminal record includes 23 offences, with 11 related to sex crimes and six involving violations of Sexual Harm Prevention Orders (SHPOs).
In December 2016, McLean was sentenced to 40 months in prison at Teesside Crown Court for a series of serious offences. These included making indecent images of children, inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, and possessing a paedophile manual. The offences stemmed from his online interactions on Facebook, where he messaged who he believed was a 12-year-old girl. He sent explicit requests, asking if he could have sex with her, proposing she become his 'sex slave', demanding pictures of her in underwear, and soliciting sexual acts. Unbeknownst to McLean, after the girl's initial response of 'f*** off', her grandmother posed as the child to expose him, leading to his arrest.
Following his release, McLean was caught again in 2018 by a vigilante group who masqueraded as a 14-year-old girl online. The conversation quickly turned sexual, with McLean arranging to meet the supposed underage girl in Darlington. Instead, he encountered a sting operation, resulting in further imprisonment.
In 2023, McLean was jailed once more for breaching his SHPO. Police visiting his home discovered he had accessed prohibited sites including Facebook, dating platforms, extremechat.com, mymilfmatch.com, and together2night.com via his mobile phone.
Most recently, just five days after his release from prison on 5 February 2026, McLean breached his SHPO again. On 10 February 2026, officers from Northumbria Police visited his bail hostel in Gateshead and requested any electronic devices. McLean suspiciously handed over only an old Nokia 'brick' phone but hid a large black smartphone, plugged into a power bank, in a drawer. The device was discovered during a search. Although no illicit content was found on the phone, McLean could not explain his concealment.
At Newcastle Magistrates' Court, McLean admitted to one count of breaching the SHPO. Prosecuting, Clare Haswell stated: 'They went to his room and asked for any electronic devices he had. He gave them a Nokia "brick" phone, as he would say. He was acting suspiciously and acted in a shocked manner when they came into his room.' He was sentenced to 24 weeks in custody. This pattern of behaviour highlights McLean's repeated failure to comply with restrictions designed to protect the public from his predatory actions, as reported by Chronicle Live on 15 February 2026.