DARREN CUDDY BANNED FROM PRESTON BREACHES SEXUAL HARM PREVENTION ORDER
In June 2020, Darren Cuddy, a resident of Preston, found himself back in court facing serious allegations of breaching a court-imposed order designed to protect the public from his previous offending behavior.Cuddy, who had previously been convicted of using a hidden camera to spy on a teenage girl in a bathroom, was sentenced to eight months in prison in 2017 for his crimes.
Following his release, he was subject to a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) that was set to remain in effect for ten years, aiming to restrict his access to certain technology and prevent further misconduct.
Despite these restrictions, authorities discovered that Cuddy had violated the terms of his SHPO by using peer-to-peer file sharing software on two separate laptops.
This breach was uncovered during a police monitoring operation.
Prosecutor David Traynor outlined to Preston Crown Court that in June 2018, Cuddy had reached out via a WhatsApp family group, asking if anyone could lend him a spare laptop.
A family member responded and loaned him a Toshiba computer.
However, when Cuddy returned the device 12 days later, he claimed to have 'cleaned up the laptop,' upgraded the uTorrent software to uTorrent Pro, and downloaded some Disney films.
These actions were not authorized by the family member and constituted a breach of the SHPO, which explicitly prohibited such activities.
Further investigations revealed that in December 2018, police conducted a monitoring visit and found Cuddy in possession of a Dell laptop.
This device had previously been used to access peer-to-peer software via an external hard drive.
The court heard that Cuddy had engaged in this activity multiple times between September and October 2018, with police suggesting that the use of an external device to operate uTorrent was likely a deliberate attempt to evade detection.
In June 2019, Cuddy further complicated his situation by messaging the family WhatsApp group, stating he had been interviewed by police regarding 'possible breaches of SHPO.' When his niece inquired if this related to the use of her Toshiba laptop, Cuddy responded that it did not, but advised her that it was probably better if she did not mention it.
During police interviews, Cuddy denied installing uTorrent on the Dell laptop and claimed that other people used the device to access the internet.
However, police investigations revealed that these claims were false, and other family members contradicted his statements.
Earlier, Cuddy had pleaded guilty at a magistrates' court to breaching his sexual harm prevention order.
His legal representative, Anna Chesnutt, argued that he deserved credit for his early plea and noted that there had been no further breaches in the past 18 months.
She also emphasized that Cuddy had never intended to use peer-to-peer software to access or share indecent images.
Today, Judge Simon Newell sentenced Cuddy to a 26-week jail term, suspended for two years.
The court also confirmed that the existing SHPO would remain in effect until 2027, continuing to impose restrictions on Cuddy's activities to protect the community from potential harm.
