Sex offender jailed for breaching court order

A SEX offender from Omagh has been jailed for three months for breaching the terms of a Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO).

Ryan Eastwood (28), of Coolnagard View, engaged with a female on social media without permission of his Designated Risk Manager.

In February 2019, Eastwood was sentenced to 12 months, with six months in prison, and the remaining six months on licence, for sexual offences committed by using online communication to dupe a female by posing as a fake model agency.

The defendant was also placed on the Sex Offenders Register for ten years, and made subject to a SOPO, which among the multiple terms included a ban on access to any internet device, camera or computer. He was also barred from developing online relationships with women.

Meanwhile, Eastwood was also forbidden from accessing social media without prior approval from his designated risk manager.

Eastwood admitted making social media contact with a female between October 4, 2019 and November 29, 2021. He ‘compromised’ social media accounts in England.

He followed the hearing at Omagh Magistrates Court from Maghaberry jail where he is currently remanded in custody on other matters.

Following his arrest, a specialist police officer previously told Omagh Magistrates Court investigations were launched into unauthorised access of Instagram and Snapchat accounts belonging to two victims in England.

An email address on one victim’s account was linked to an internet provider at Eastwood’s home, although this was in his mother’s name.

Enquiries identified further social media accounts compromised by the same email address.

His home was searched and a number of internet-capable devices were seized, of which two were “actively paired to the home Wi-Fi, plugged in and powered-up in the defendant’s bedroom, namely a Smart television and an Amazon Fire TV stick”.

Paperwork relating to one compromised victim’s email address was also found during the search.

Defence counsel, Ciara O’Neill, acknowledged the defendant had an “unsavoury but not a long criminal record” and was in custody with ‘no prospect’ of getting bail.

She said the SOPO breach related solely to the use of the Smart television and Amazon Fire stick, with other matters being dealt with separately.

Imposing a sentence of three months’ imprisonment, District Judge Bernie Kelly remarked, “This is starting to become exceptionally serious. This appears to be a case whereby the defendant managed by some electronic means to get his email address linked into someone else’s account to access their information.

“That takes a lot of planning and know-how.”