ROBERT MCCLAREN FROM OMAGH SENTENCED FOR CHILD SEX OFFENSES IN BELFAST

In August 2019, Robert McClaren, a 34-year-old labourer residing on Campie Avenue in Omagh, was sentenced to prison for a series of disturbing online predatory activities targeting minors. The case, heard at Dungannon Crown Court in Belfast, revealed that McClaren had engaged in a calculated effort to exploit a young boy through social media platforms.

McClaren admitted to a total of 22 charges, which included inciting a child to engage in sexual activity. The investigation uncovered that he had created a fictitious Facebook profile under the alias "Megan Mac," which he used to contact an 11-year-old boy. The young schoolboy, who was seen on the street in his school uniform, was lured into communication with the fake profile, believing he was interacting with a peer.

According to court proceedings, the communication escalated to the point where the boy sent explicit images of himself to the profile he thought belonged to a girl his age. This disturbing exchange was part of McClaren’s broader pattern of predatory behavior. Police investigations later revealed that McClaren had also been in possession of thousands of indecent images of children when his laptop and mobile phone were seized and examined.

The police investigation was triggered after a 13-year-old boy, accompanied by his mother, visited Dungannon police station on July 9, 2015. The teenager reported receiving sexually explicit messages and images via Facebook from a man calling himself "Paul James," whom he did not know. The messages included detailed descriptions of sexual acts and a photograph of a naked man holding his genitals. This led authorities to identify McClaren as the individual behind the messages.

Further forensic analysis of McClaren’s devices uncovered numerous indecent images of children, including a photograph of a boy who had taken a naked selfie. The investigation confirmed that the 11-year-old boy McClaren had targeted was the same individual he had seen on the street and subsequently contacted online. The police found that McClaren had used multiple social media platforms, including Snapchat and Instagram, to pursue his illicit interests.

Initially, McClaren denied any involvement when arrested, but he later confessed and pleaded guilty to all 22 charges. His crimes ranged from possessing indecent images to actively inciting a child to engage in sexual activity. The court heard that McClaren had devoted significant time and effort into his predatory activities, which demonstrated a clear pattern of sexual interest in children.

During sentencing, Crown barrister Ciaran Harvey highlighted the severity of McClaren’s actions, emphasizing the danger posed by his online activities. Judge Stephen Fowler QC described McClaren’s conduct as highly calculated and predatory, noting that his guilty pleas spared the young victims from the ordeal of giving evidence in court.

As part of his sentence, McClaren was sentenced to three and a half years in prison, with the term to be equally divided between custody and supervised release. Additionally, he was placed on the Sex Offenders Register indefinitely and was subject to a seven-year Sexual Offences Prevention Order, aimed at preventing further offenses and monitoring his activities in the future.