A CONVICTED paedophile was refused bail after he was arrested for breaching a Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO), after police say he was seen speaking to a nine-year-old girl in a shop when she was alone.
Robert Liddle (76) from Lisnaskea was arrested on July 19, after a witness reported that they saw Liddle speaking to a nine-year-old child at a shop close to his home on May 12.
A police officer told Strabane Magistrates Court on Thursday (June 20), that Liddle was spotted by a witness speaking to a 9-year-old girl when she was alone in a shop in Lisnaskea.
The young girl was by herself, but her father was outside the shop in his car waiting for her.
The witness who recognised Liddle approached the young girl’s father and warned him that Liddle was speaking to his daughter.
The child’s father went inside the shop and spoke to Liddle before paying for some items and leaving the premises with his daughter.
The girl’s father knew Liddle as they live close to each other.
The witness reported the incident to police, and his account was verified by the father of the child.
Liddle was arrested on June 19, and admitted in interview to speaking to the girl, but told police her father was present the entire time.
The former truck driver and gardener was given a SOPO in 2010 after committing indecent assaults on girls as young as seven.
He has been on the sex offenders’ register since 1999, with court appearances dating back to the early 1980s.
The police opposed bail due to Liddle’s risk of reoffending, and his previous record of branching his SOPO nine times.
A number of the previous breaches were similar to this incident.
Bail was refused, and Liddle will appear again by video link at Enniskillen Magistrates Court on July 18.
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