Matthew Ferguson 42

Description

A REGISTERED sex offender breached a court order by removing monitoring software which allows police to track online use on electronic devices.

Matthew Ferguson, 42, was handed a 45-month prison sentence in 2021 after he was caught sending messages to what he thought was a 12-year-old girl.

Ferguson had written explicit text messages, made graphic suggestions and sent a crude image of himself. He was actually communicating with members of a vigilante group.

He admitted charges of attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity, and attempted sexual communication.

Ferguson, previously of Workington and now of London Road, Carlisle, was jailed by a judge who heard the defendant had a low IQ which was deemed to be on the cusp of a learning disability.

As part of his punishment, Ferguson was made subject to the strict terms of a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO); and further ordered to comply with sex offender notification requirements. These were imposed in a bid to prevent further online reoffending and keep police informed of his personal information.

But Ferguson was sentenced again, at Carlisle Magistrates’ Court today (tues). He had previously admitted three SHPO breaches, and failing to comply with the notification requirements.

These came to light when an offender manager conducted a home visit on May 16 this year.

Analysis of a mobile phone showed police online monitoring software which had previously been installed was not present. An expert concluded this absence was caused by the actions of the device user. “It cannot be done accidentally or remotely,” said prosecutor Diane Jackson.

The court was also given details of three other offences.

During the course of several days in early May, Ferguson had deleted WhatsApp messages which formed part of his online history; failed to declare a YouTube user name to police; and used a Dropbox cloud storage facility.

“I would submit they are deliberate breaches,” said Mrs Jackson of Ferguson’s latest offending.

Defence solicitor Katie Scattergood, mitigating, said Ferguson had entered his guilty pleas at the earliest possible opportunity. “Alongside that he did make full admissions during his police interview,” she said.

Ferguson’s offending was committed because he did not have a physical copy of the SHPO, against a background of limited intellectual functioning.

Miss Scattergood said he now had a copy, adding: “He is aware of the obligations upon him. He doesn’t seek to minimise his offending. He knows he has breached his order, hence his guilty pleas.”

Magistrates heard he had not committed any other offences since those for which he was punished at the crown court.

He had previously been recalled to serve the balance of that sentence, and as a result had not completed any work offered by the probation service.

“He wants the opportunity to engage fully with the (SHPO) order and the police, and hopes to remain in the community,” said Miss Scattergood.

Magistrates suspended an eight-month sentence for two years.

Ferguson must complete a sexual offending course under probation service direction, and additional rehabilitation work.