PAUL CLARK, ENNISKILLEN SEX OFFENDER, SENTENCED TO THREE MONTHS FOR BREACHING SOPO

In December 2013, Paul James Clark, a 38-year-old sex offender from Enniskillen, was sentenced to three months in prison for breaching his Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO). Clark pleaded guilty to the breach during a court appearance via video link at Fermanagh Crown Court. The court heard that Clark had ignored a SOPO restriction which prohibited him from associating with known or suspected sex offenders by befriending another offender.

The case revealed that Clark was previously convicted in 1998 of two counts of rape and one of assault in Kingston-Upon-Thames Magistrates Court in south-west London. In April of that year, the public protection unit was alerted after a sex offender in Fermanagh mentioned Clark’s name to his risk manager, indicating the two had become friends.

On October 16, police visited Clark’s home in The Brook, Enniskillen, around 8pm, after receiving intelligence about his contact with another offender. Police observed Clark, of Hollywell, Dwayne—who was in Roscommon—alongside the other sex offender. Clark was arrested for breaching the SOPO and told officers, “I forgot that was on it, I was only with him a short time.”

During police interviews, Clark denied awareness that he was a sex offender. His lawyer, Joe McCann, argued that Clark had admitted to the offences initially, and noted that under guidelines, a guilty plea can reduce the penalty for a SOPO breach by over a third. McCann also contended that the breach was technical rather than fundamental, as the pair previously met in the south of Ireland, where SOPO restrictions do not apply.

The court was informed that Clark, who had been in custody for the past two months, had prior convictions for breaching his SOPO on two occasions. He failed to notify police of a change of address when homeless, and on another occasion, associated with a family with children, leading to a nine-month prison term.

District Judge Nigel Broderick concluded that the breach was not merely technical, saying, “Having taken all matters into consideration I sentence him to three months in prison.”