Thomas Young 34

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A REGISTERED sex offender was snared by artificial intelligence as he flouted a strict court order by viewing perverted internet images of children.

Thomas Young, 34, had appeared at Carlisle Crown Court a decade ago when he was sentenced for inciting a girl aged under 13 to engage in sexual activity.

As part of the punishment, Young was made subject to the strict terms of a sexual offences prevention order (SOPO). This imposed tough curbs on his online use for an indefinite period.

Young was twice brought back to court for breaching the SOPO, once in 2023 and then again in early February when he received a suspended prison sentence.

But within days of being spared jail, Young flouted the order once more.

“Police were first alerted on March 15 of this year by e-safe global software installed on the defendant’s phone,” prosecutor Brendan Burke told the city’s crown court.

“That software captures and screenshots any activity which the artificial intelligence detects to be of a suspicious or concerning nature.”

On that date, two indecent category C images were logged. Three days later, a further four were detected along with one image classed in category A — the most serious — involving a girl aged 12 to 14 years.

All images had been accessed via the Telegram platform. And Mr Burke said analysis showed that from February 11 — just days after his last crown court appearance — and March 18, Young had installed and then uninstalled the Telegram application a dozen times.

This was a flagrant breach of the SOPO, which was designed to make all such data available for scrutiny, and display internet history.

In addition, Young was found to have flouted sex offender notification requirements by failing to disclose two online usernames which had been active around the turn of this year.

When brought to court Young admitted making indecent photographs of a child, breaching the SOPO and twice flouting the notification requirements.

The category A image, said Mr Burke, had been captured by Young from a video of two hours, 31 minutes’ duration.

Defence lawyer Jeff Smith, mitigating, said of Young: “He can provide no real explanation as to why he finds himself in the position that he does.”

Young had been “lonely” and taken cocaine which, he suggested, may have altered his judgement and failed to impress upon him the consequences of his actions.

Judge Nicholas Barker jailed Young, latterly of Warwick Square, Carlisle, for 18 months. New strict court orders placing restrictions on him, and an obligation to regularly provide police with personal information, were imposed for 10 years.

“You knew that by doing those actions you were likely putting yourself, not just at risk, but of receiving an immediate custodial sentence,” Judge Barker told Young.