CARLISLE SEX OFFENDER CAUGHT DOWNLOADING INDECENT IMAGES AFTER WRONGFUL POLICE SEIZURE
A Carlisle man named Mark Bowness, aged 55, was involved in crimes related to possessing indecent images of children.
The court heard that he had downloaded four such images, with three categorized as Class C (least serious) and three as Class B (second most serious).
Bowness admitted to both offenses.
His arrest was prompted after a police 'offender manager' visited his home, mistakenly believing he was still under an indefinite sexual harm prevention order that had been imposed in December 2009.
When questioned, Bowness initially denied having a mobile phone but later admitted to possessing one, which was found to contain search terms suggestive of interest in boys and indecent images.
The court noted that the sexual harm prevention order had expired after a decade and was not in force when the phone was seized, making the police's subsequent monitoring and seizure unlawful.
Bowness had been detained since October 11, and the court acknowledged his open attitude regarding his phone.
The judge, Michael Fanning, recorded not guilty pleas for breaching the order, given that it was no longer in effect at the time of the phone's seizure.
The court sentenced Bowness to a three-month concurrent jail term, with an additional 12 months of probation supervision.
He will also be listed on the Sex Offender Register for seven years and subject to a seven-year sexual harm prevention order to monitor his online activities, highlighting ongoing public protection efforts.
This is a probabilistic continent or country-group signal from public name datasets. It is not proof of nationality, ethnicity or personal background.
Likely region signal
UK
Country
from United Kingdom
- based on first and surname
61.6%
confidence
First-name region
UK
United Kingdom
37.4%
Surname region
UK
United Kingdom
85.7%
Court Outcome
Conviction and Sentencing Details
Sentenced
Detected legal outcome
ilty pleas for breaching the order, given that it was no longer in effect at the time of the phone's seizure. The court sentenced Bowness to a three-month concurrent jail term, with an additional 12 months of probation supervision. He wi...
Court order
His arrest was prompted after a police 'offender manager' visited his home, mistakenly believing he was still under an indefinite sexual harm prevention order that had been imposed in December 2009
Court order
The court noted that the sexual harm prevention order had expired after a decade and was not in force when the phone was seized, making the police's subsequent monitoring and seizure unlawful
Sex Offenders Register
seven years
He will also be listed on the Sex Offender Register for seven years and subject to a seven-year sexual harm prevention order to monitor his online activities, highlighting ongoing public protection efforts
Court order
seven years
He will also be listed on the Sex Offender Register for seven years and subject to a seven-year sexual harm prevention order to monitor his online activities, highlighting ongoing public protection efforts
