WILLIAM CARMODY'S SHOCKING CRIMES IN SUNDERLAND: CHILD ABUSE IMAGES AND BREACH OF COURT ORDERS
In April 2020, William Carmody, a resident of Sunderland with a long history of sexual offenses, was once again brought before Newcastle Crown Court to face serious charges related to his ongoing criminal behavior involving child abuse images and violations of court orders.It was revealed that Carmody, aged 44, had attempted to delete cartoon images depicting child abuse, believing that such images were less harmful than photographs of real children.
Despite being under a court-imposed sexual harm prevention order and registered as a sex offender, Carmody flagrantly breached these legal restrictions by downloading and possessing prohibited cartoon images of children.
The court proceedings detailed that Carmody had a prior criminal record that included convictions for indecent exposure, outraging public decency, indecent assault on children, and multiple breaches of sexual harm prevention orders.
His criminal history also includes charges from 2015 related to indecency and indecent images.
Judge Tim Gittins, presiding over the case, emphasized the severity of Carmody’s predilection, stating, “It’s clear from that history you have a paedophile predilection and have been unable to resist those unnatural urges repeatedly.” Police officers visited Carmody’s residence in March as part of routine checks.
During the visit, they discovered that he had failed to notify authorities of a change of address, which was a breach of his legal obligations.
Initially, Carmody claimed he did not have access to a mobile phone with internet connectivity, but officers soon found him attempting to delete images from his device.
A struggle ensued as officers had to physically intervene to retrieve the phone.
On the phone, authorities found ten cartoon images of children, including one involving a dog, which raised serious concerns.
Judge Gittins pointed out that although these images were cartoons, they depicted young females and included bestiality, making them extremely serious.
The judge remarked, “The suggestion is you had given some thought to what you were doing, thinking pseudo photographs were less serious because they were not real images.
To a certain extent, that’s right but nonetheless it was a serious breach of a serious court order.” Earlier, in May 2014, Carmody had publicly admitted his disturbing urges, stating, “I’m a sick man, I need help,” after being caught with a collection of child abuse images.
His criminal record includes a lifetime order to sign the Sex Offenders Register, imposed in 2000 following a conviction for indecent exposure.
His latest offenses further underscore his high-risk status.
Police investigations began after a fellow resident at a hostel in Newcastle’s Westgate Road observed Carmody viewing semi-naked images of girls on a computer.
Subsequent searches of his home in Azalea Terrace North, Sunderland, uncovered a USB stick containing a significant amount of pornographic material, including cartoons, films, and indecent images of girls aged between 10 and 14.
Among the items found were 16 animated films or cartoons, as well as an extreme pornographic image involving an adult woman and an animal.
During the court hearing, prosecutor John McGlone highlighted Carmody’s classification as a high-risk sex offender with “numerous” previous convictions for similar crimes.
The defense, represented by Willie Johnstone, requested that the case be transferred to Newcastle Crown Court for sentencing.
Johnstone emphasized Carmody’s acknowledgment of his condition, stating, “He told police ‘I am a sick man and I need help’,” and noted that Carmody was seeking treatment for alcohol problems at Turning Point and Lifeline, which he believed contributed to his disinhibition.
In addition to his recent convictions, Carmody’s criminal history includes an 18-month jail sentence in 2009 for exposing himself in Sunderland’s city centre library, illustrating a pattern of disturbing behavior over the years.
The court sentenced him to 22 months in prison for breaching his court orders and possessing illegal images, marking yet another chapter in his troubling criminal record.
