Convicted paedophile loitering close to school, court hears

A CONVICTED paedophile who sexually assaulted a 12-year-old friend of his children has been remanded in custody on a plethora of alleged Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO) breaches by repeatedly being in the vicinity of an Omagh primary school.

When arrested and charged, Gareth Kitchener (37), whose address was given as Millbrook Gardens in Castlederg, faces six counts of loitering in the vicinity of a primary school, as well as having unsupervised contact with children, between February 22 and March 13.

A detective sergeant told a special sitting of Dungannon Magistrates Court all charges could be connected.

She explained, on March 13, a member of the public reported Kitchener was at a petrol station opposite Omagh County Primary School with two young children.

Enquiries revealed while these were his children, he was only permitted supervised contact.

The following day, police attended the petrol station and observed Kitchener enter and walk to the rear of the premises, then peer over shelving and ask a member of staff, “Are they looking for me?”

At this time, he was aware police were actively seeking him.

He left in a car which was located at an address nearby, becoming “verbally aggressive and obstructive” with police, locking the car doors and refusing to open them.

An officer attempted to open the car door by putting his arms through a partially-open window, but Kitchener drove off.

Police managed to open the door, however he “actively” resisted arrest.

Meanwhile, CCTV footage at the petrol station showed Kitchener had breached the SOPO on five occasions over the previous fortnight.

The detective told the court that bail was strongly opposed.

She said, “Police are aware of (SOPO) breaches on a number of occasions, but there may be more.”

The detective continued, “The SOPO is in place due to the risk he poses. He is adamant he will continue to go to the filling station despite it being near a primary school during opening hours. When charged he repeatedly stated he wouldn’t be attending court.”

A defence solicitor stated Kitchener accepted he attends the garage “almost daily”, but not at set times.

The solicitor added, “He denies the charges and insists he is not in breach of the SOPO … He assures he will abide by any conditions the court may impose.”

However, District Judge Michael Ranaghan said, “That undertaking carries little or no weight. The SOPO is there to protect the vulnerable. The defendant presents a real risk of further offending and bail could not be managed.”

Kitchener will appear again by videolink in Omagh Magistrates Court on April 9.