Enniskillen court house
AN ELDERLY sex offender from Enniskillen who was escorted off a plane in Belfast after jetting in from a two week holiday in Lanzarote has been handed a suspended prison sentence after he failed to notify police about his trip abroad.
83-year-old Thomas Vincent Maguire, of Corraglass Road, Brockagh, pleaded guilty to failing to tell police officers that he was travelling outside the UK for more than three days, which he is required to do under the Sexual Offences Act.
The pensioner claimed that he made his whereabouts known to an officer a few days before his trip, but did not tell the police officer he was a sex offender.
A prosecutor told the court that on September 5 last year at approximately 5pm, police stopped the defendant at Belfast International Airport as he was getting off a flight from Lanzarote with his partner.
As he was under a sexual offences order, he was required to notify police if he was intending to travel abroad for more than three days.
He told officers that he had been away on a two week holiday and gave the name of the resort where he had stayed.
However, he claimed that a few days before he left, he went to Enniskillen Police Station and gave details of his trip to someone at the front desk.
He alleged that a woman noted his details and address and the dates he was leaving.
On September 20, Maguire was interviewed again over the alleged breach.
Officers received a statement from the officer who took his details which alleged that he failed to inform her he was on under the Sexual Offences Act.
The court was told that the civilian officer believed Maguire was informing police that his property would be empty for two weeks but was not aware that he was seeking permission to travel abroad.
Defence barrister Stephan Rafferty explained to the court that his client did not breach the Sexual Offences Act but was in breach of the sexual offenders notification requirement.
“He admits this breach,” he said.
“The onus was on him to notify police if was intending on travelling.
“It slipped his mind when he visited the police station. He is a man in his mid-80s and he was not aware she was a civilian police officer and thought his circumstances would have been known to her when he had given his name.
“He is required to give seven days notice but the difficulty is that because the holiday was booked some time previously he forgot and he did it as soon as was practical for himself and thought he had complied with the requirements.”
The court also heard that Maguire breached a three year suspended sentence, however it was not activated.
Maguire was handed a two month prison sentence suspended for 12 months.
Judge Broderick added: “If you travel again, make sure police are aware of your travel arrangements.”
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