Pensioner Mervyn Hanna, 73, sentenced over ‘unforgivable’ conduct after being ensnared by paedophile hunter sting

Sentencing Mervyn Hanna at Newry Magistrates Court, District Judge Eamon King told the 73-year-old “I’m sure you ask yourself how you found yourself in this situation and circumstances…but your conduct really, is unforgivable, in the circumstances that you thought that you were speaking to a 13-year-old child.”

"You have to live with the stigma of that in your community as you live out your days,” he told the defendant who was also ordered to sign the police sex offenders register for five years.

In April Hanna, from Eleastian Park in Kilkeel, entered a guilty plea to a single charge of attempted sexual communication with a child on 9 November last year in that he “intentionally attempting to communicate with a child for the purpose of obtaining sexual gratification, which was intended to encourage the said child to make a sexual communication.”

In court on Wednesday, a prosecuting lawyer told the court how police received a report from a paedophile hunter group who were at an address in Kilkeel, having confronted a suspect.

“Police attended and spoke with a spokesperson for the group and he provided police with the USB and said that it contained evidence that the Hanna had attempted to contact a decoy 13-year-old,” said the lawyer.

Hanna was arrested and his devices seized and the court heard there were a number of sexually explicit images of his private parts and of Hanna performing a sex act upon himself.

During police interviews the 73-year-old admitted having contacted a female he believed to be 13 and he made full admissions to the offences.

Defence solicitor Richard Monteith highlighted that Hanna had pleaded guilty at the first opportunity and co-operated fully with police.

"Quite appropriately the case has been deemed appropriate for the petty sessions as opposed to the Crown Court," said the solicitor, adding that “thirdly, and more significantly, when he was originally arrested obviously all electronic devices were seized by the police…and that search was entirely negative.”

Mr Monteith told the judge that negative result meant that Hanna’s offending is “contained entirely with the single set of events before Your Worship - there is nothing else and no other worrying factors.”

While he conceded that the case could be considered the meet the threshold for a jail sentence, "I would respectfully say to Your Worship that the appropriate way to deal with this, for a first offence by a man aged 73, in those particular circumstances is clearly outlined at the back of report and he would readily engage with anything at the court would recommend."

Addressing Hanna directly, DJ King told him that for a 73-year-old man with a clear record to appear in court given the nature off the offences "in itself is a penalty that you will have to live with as you live out your days in your community".

The judge said the pre-sentence report prepared by the probation board has assessed him as a medium likelihood of reoffending but that “they also say that you acknowledge the triggers that caused you to be before the court and their suggestion says that you would comply with a probation order to address those triggers going forward.”

Imposing the 12 mon th probation order DJ King told Hanna “I’m satisfied at the disposal, by way of a probation report, is the appropriate disposal which will prevent you from engaging in this type of conduct going forward.”

The probation order stipulates:

- You must permanently reside at an approved address and not leave that address without prior approval of a supervising officer and reside as directed by the supervision officer.

- You may not reside or even stay one night in the same household as any child under 18 prior to the approval of your supervising officer.

- You may not have any unsupervised contact directly or in indirectly with children under the age of 18 or vulnerable adults without prior approval of your supervising officer

- You must not undertake work or organised activity, paid or unpaid, which will involve underage people under the age of 18 without prior approval

- You must not access any device with internet capacity: phones, laptops, tablets MP3 players, computers, other than those that a capacity to retain and display the history of your internet usage and which has been approved by your supervising officer, and you must not interfere or change or delete the browsing history of those devices

- You must not develop any personal relationship without notifying your supervising officer, and take appropriate steps to ensure verifiable disclosure has been made

- You most actively participate in any program of work recommended by your supervising officer, designated to reduce the risk you may present and to attend and do any workshops specified.

In addition Hanna was also made the subject of a five year Sexual Offences Prevention Order.