ALAN AIREY, CONVICTED PAEDOPHILE, BREACHES ORDERS IN MERSEYSIDE
A convicted sex offender, Alan Airey, 37, secretly formed a relationship with a mother of two children without revealing his criminal past.Airey met the woman via Facebook after he was released from prison in April last year, where he had served a four-and-a-half-year sentence for child sexual assault and grooming.
Using a false surname, he started staying overnight at her house, which was shared with her children and a teenage girl.
Liverpool Crown Court learned that the woman was initially unaware of Airey's past; she became "shocked and concerned" when she discovered his history.
During the hearing, Airey appeared via video link from prison and claimed he was visiting the house to bring his underwear the next day.
His conduct, which was prohibited by a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO), was uncovered after police received an anonymous tip-off indicating a convicted paedophile was residing at the address.
Claire Jones, prosecuting, explained: "It was made following a newspaper article publicising matters about the defendant.
On January 23, police found Airey upstairs, and upon arrest, he initially made no reply but then asked, ‘Is it because I’m here?’" The court heard that the woman knew Airey had been released from prison but believed he had been incarcerated for robbery, unaware of his sexual offence convictions.
She revealed that he had been known as Alan Clegg and another surname, and that they had exchanged Facebook messages around Christmas, which led to them sharing phone numbers.
Miss Jones added: "He visited on January 7, and their relationship started from there.
He had been there multiple times and stayed overnight for up to three days.
The woman described them having normal family time, sometimes with Airey alone with her children while she was elsewhere in the house.
It was also reported that Airey had been alone with the teenage girl while she was out collecting her children from school.
The girl confirmed during interviews that nothing inappropriate had occurred." The court was informed that Airey admitted to full and candid admissions when questioned, acknowledging he had concealed his stay at the house and his romantic relationship with the woman from his supervising officers.
He had violated his SHPO and six conditions of his license from prison.
Airey has since been recalled to custody and remains in prison until at least June next year.
His criminal history includes 26 convictions covering 53 offences, primarily committed in 2018, which involved sexual activity with two teenage girls and grooming a girl under 16, leading to his incarceration the following year.
Airey, from Halkyn Road, Chester, pleaded guilty to breaching the Sexual Harm Prevention Order.
Defence solicitor Jeremy Rawson stated that Airey is motivated to change and was suitable for a pilot project in Cheshire involving strict supervision post-release.
Rawson noted that prior publicity about Airey’s background led him to use his mother’s maiden name upon release.
Sentencing him to two years' imprisonment, Recorder Katherine Pierpoint acknowledged efforts Airey had made to turn his life around but emphasized he had failed to inform his probation officer about his new relationship.
The judge described the breach as "serious and persistent," lasting about a month, during which Airey stayed multiple times at the house, and noted the significant risk posed by his concealment of his identity while on licence.
While considering a restraining order to keep Airey away from the woman and her family, the judge ultimately decided against it after Airey interrupted proceedings, claiming he was in a relationship with the woman and that she was bringing him his underwear, and that probation knew about this.
Further investigations will continue, and the restraining order was not issued.
