Locations
Spires Lane, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE6
Description
A sex offender, Sean Yearnshire, previously jailed for attempting to meet an underage girl after online grooming, has been sentenced to 20 months in prison for new offenses.
Just months after completing his licence period from a 27-month sentence in January 2023, the 26-year-old sent sexualised messages, including explicit images, to an undercover police officer posing as a 13-year-old girl on TikTok between August 14 and 21, 2025.
He also attempted to solicit intimate images and declared his love for the "girl." Yearnshire, who breached a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO), admitted to attempting to cause a child to watch sexual activity and engaging in sexual communication with a child.
Arrested on August 26 at his workplace in Consett, County Durham, he confirmed ownership of seized devices but gave mostly "no comment" responses in interviews.
Durham Crown Court heard Yearnshire had completed a probation-led Horizon course to address his sexual offending, yet reoffended shortly after.
His defense noted he responded to the officer’s initial contact while feeling lonely in supported accommodation in Byker, Newcastle, and expressed remorse for letting himself and the court down.
Judge Nathan Adams highlighted the severity of reoffending soon after release and in violation of an SHPO, imposing the 20-month sentence and a new ten-year sex offender registration period, alongside the existing SHPO, which continues for seven-and-a-half years.