BRANDON SWINNEY FROM HARTLEPOOL AND NEWCASTLE STRIKES AGAIN: SEX OFFENDER REPEATEDLY OFFENDS IN NORTH EAST
In a disturbing series of events spanning several years, Brandon Healer, also known as Swinney, has demonstrated a troubling pattern of offending and breaching legal restrictions in the North East of England, specifically involving Hartlepool, Newcastle, and Darlington.In March 2021, Healer, a convicted sex offender, found himself back behind bars after moving in with a young mother in Darlington without informing authorities of his whereabouts.
The incident came to light after police received a tip-off that he was residing with a mother-of-two in her home.
It was revealed that Healer had left his approved accommodation in Newcastle in September of the previous year and had failed to notify the authorities of his new residence.
His disappearance lasted several months until he was eventually located in January, having moved into the unsuspecting woman's house on Boxing Day.
During the court hearing at Teesside Crown Court, it was disclosed that despite a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) being in place to protect vulnerable children, Healer was occasionally left alone in the house with the two young children of the woman he was living with.
This raised serious concerns about the safety of the children and the adequacy of supervision given the restrictions imposed on him.
Healer, who was previously known as Swinney in 2015, had served a sentence of two and a half years after admitting to three sexual assault charges.
Prosecutor Ashleigh Leach stated, “They found the defendant in the property and arrested him for being in breach of his notification requirements.
Inside the house were her two young children, and she confirmed she was in a relationship with the defendant.” In a victim impact statement, the mother expressed her profound disappointment and sense of betrayal, stating she was ‘absolutely disgusted and felt totally betrayed’ by Healer’s failure to disclose his criminal past before moving in with her and her children.
Healer, who chose to represent himself during the court proceedings, offered no additional comments when asked by the judge.
Judge Howard Crowson sentenced him to 20 months in prison for breaching his SHPO, emphasizing the gravity of the breach given the presence of children in the household.
The judge remarked, “She had two children, and you formed a relationship with her shortly after you left the approved premises.” Earlier, in March 2019, Healer, then known as Swinney, was involved in a separate incident in Hartlepool that resulted in his re-incarceration.
Just days after being released from a 30-month prison sentence for sexual offences against a teenage girl, he was caught attempting to contact a schoolgirl via Facebook under an alias, despite being under a Sexual Harm Prevention Order that prohibited such contact.
According to court reports, Swinney had been living in a bail hostel in South Bank, Middlesbrough, when his monitoring manager discovered he was using social media to contact a 15-year-old girl.
He had tried to persuade her to send sexual photographs, and when he met her in a park, he was found smelling of alcohol and proceeded to push her against a fence before engaging in sexual activity with her.
The girl’s victim impact statement described Swinney as a “sexual predator” who falsely claimed to love her, but she realized he only wanted her for sex.
She expressed relief that police intervened, preventing further harm and hoping to protect other girls from him.
At the time of this incident, Swinney was residing on Burbank Street, Hartlepool, and was described as “rootless,” moving frequently in pursuit of young girls.
He was sentenced in July 2015 to three years in prison and was given an indefinite Sexual Offences Prevention Order, which restricted his contact with minors.
He was also placed on the Sex Offender’s Register for life.
His criminal history dates back to when he was just 18, also in Hartlepool, where he was convicted of child abuse and sexual assault.
During that case, he was banned for life from working with children and prohibited from having unsupervised contact with girls under 16 for ten years.
The court heard that he had lived a transient lifestyle, often moving around east Durham between the ages of 14 and 16, which contributed to his “rootless” reputation.
In his victim impact statement, the young girl described how the abuse affected her mental health, causing her to struggle with anger, trouble at school, and fear of being alone.
The judge, Neil Davey QC, acknowledged that Swinney lacked proper guidance but emphasized that he knew his actions were wrong and continued to offend for his own gratification.
A probation officer noted that Swinney had begged the victim not to disclose the abuse, knowing it was wrong, and that her silence had allowed him to continue his predatory behavior.
These incidents highlight a troubling pattern of repeated offending and breaches of legal restrictions by Brandon Healer/Swinney, raising serious concerns about the effectiveness of supervision and the ongoing risk he poses to the community in Hartlepool, Newcastle, and beyond.
