Sam Byrne, a 19-year-old from Stevenage, Hertfordshire, was sentenced at St Albans Crown Court on 29 July 2021 for a series of sexual offences against young boys. The court heard that Byrne had a history of such behaviour, beginning in 2018 when he was 17 years old.
Between 1 November and 15 November 2018, Byrne groomed three boys aged 12 and 13 during Xbox Live video game sessions. He exchanged messages with them and paid money into their PayPal accounts in return for sexual activity. For these 10 offences, Byrne received a two-year suspended sentence in October 2020, along with a Sexual Harm Prevention Order that prohibited unsupervised contact with anyone under 16.
However, Byrne flagrantly breached this order multiple times shortly after it was imposed. Between 12 October and 9 December 2020, he breached it on four occasions by going babysitting and contacting a child on social media. Just two days before his sentencing for the 2018 offences, while on bail and aged 19, Byrne stayed overnight at a 13-year-old boy's house in Stevenage. He deceived the boy's mother by claiming to be 16, drank vodka, and played on the PlayStation. The boy went to sleep and awoke to find Byrne sexually abusing him.
The victim reported the incident to his girlfriend, who informed the school, leading to police involvement. Hertfordshire Police arrested Byrne, who made no comment during questioning. In a victim personal statement, the 13-year-old described feeling 'confused, embarrassed, worried, shocked and angry', stating he could not trust anyone, felt used, suffered flashbacks, and disliked being alone.
Prosecutor Gabrielle McAvock outlined the breaches and the assault. Defending barrister Kate Parker argued that Byrne was under emotional strain due to a friend's suicide that month, was due for sentencing, and had begun drinking, leading to the assault. She described him as 'emotionally immature and socially isolated', noting his difficult time in custody, including abuse, contracting COVID-19, and self-harming without psychiatric help.
Judge Stephen Warner condemned Byrne's actions, stating: 'A couple of days before you were to be sentenced (for the 10 offences from 2018) and whilst on bail you committed the offence of sexual activity towards the 13-year-old who was befriended by you.' He highlighted the 'flagrant breaches' of the order. Byrne was sentenced to four and a half years' detention for the sexual assault and five charges of breaching the Sexual Harm Prevention Order, having admitted breaching the terms of his suspended sentence. He must now abide by a new Sexual Harm Prevention Order for seven years and register as a sex offender indefinitely.
The case was reported by The Comet, with images provided by Hertfordshire Police.