Locations
Moss Bay Road, Workington, CA14
Description
A SEX offender has been jailed after failing to inform police of a YouTube account he claimed was ‘auto-generated’ by the video sharing platform.
Michael Holliday, 52, was put behind bars for 24 weeks after Workington Magistrates’ Court heard police discovered a YouTube username on his phone which had not been disclosed.
Prosecutor Pamela Fee said Holliday is a registered sex offender who is subject to notification requirements. He is managed by officers from the Management of Sexual or Violent Offenders team who ensure that such offenders are complying with orders.
Ms Fee said Holliday is required to undertake polygraph tests after being convicted of sexual communication with a child on the social media and video sharing platform, TikTok.
In 2022, he was given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) and made subject to Sex Offender notification requirements for seven years. He must notify police of any online usernames within three days, the court was told.
Ms Fee said Holliday had been assessed as ‘high risk’ for reoffending after previously breaching the SHPO.
The court heard that Holliday attended the polygraph appointment in Cockermouth on September 3 and during a pre-interview discussion, he admitted deleting the internet history from his phone, stating it was ‘normal pornography’.
Ms Fee said this was ‘a huge concern’. The defendant also said he had lost that phone on the beach in the days prior.
Officers attended Cockermouth Police Station and Holliday was arrested. His phone was seized and a search was carried out on the device. There was a username on YouTube that had been used on August 31. Holliday had not notified police of the username.
Ms Fee said there had been two previous breaches of the SHPO and within five and a half weeks, the defendant had committed further breaches. Holliday was ‘fully aware’ of the requirements, the prosecutor said.
Mike Woolaghan, defending, said Holliday’s use of YouTube was known to police and had been authorised by them.
“When it was set up, a username was set up,” Mr Woolaghan said. “What has happened, I think when YouTube was purchased by Elon Musk, there was a migration of data.
“It auto-generated a username. It wasn’t creating a new account. It was being auto-generated on the system.
“That is a username he was obliged to provide to the police. There is no suggestion there are two accounts being run side by side and one is being hidden.”
Mr Woolaghan said the defendant had some issues that were ‘unaddressed’ and he had experienced childhood trauma that he continues to struggle with.
“He would benefit from some ongoing support to address those underlying trauma issues,” the solicitor said. “Avoidance strategy is not the most appropriate strategy.”
Holliday pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to failing to comply with notification requirements.
Jailing the defendant for 24 weeks, presiding magistrate Mark Gear said only a custodial sentence could be justified.
Holliday, of Moss Bay Road, Workington, must also pay £85 costs and a £154 victim surcharge.