A 43-YEAR-OLD man has appeared before a special court accused of sexually assaulting a teenage girl who, although never encountering him before, managed to track his image on social media to identify him to police.
It transpired Michael Boyd from Hillview Walk, Enniskillen is a convicted sex offender who was only released from prison a few months ago for a similar incident.
When asked if he understood the later charge Boyd replied, “Yes, it’s an allegation”.
A detective constable from the PSNI Public Protection Unit told Dungannon Magistrates Court the charge could be connected.
She explained the complainant told police while walking to her home at around 8pm on August 22, she noticed an unknown, intoxicated male later identified as Boyd.
He claimed to know her and commented on seeing her in her school uniform, identifying the school in question before, “wrapping his arms around her without warning.”
She informed him of her age and he let go but continued to walk with her.
During this he allegedly asked her to go to a wedding with him, invited her on a holiday, and made multiple requests for her phone number.
Boyd hugged her again and, “Placed five unwanted kisses on her cheek, She was afraid to push him away as he told her he’d recently been released from prison.
He continued to hug her tightly and she could feel his arms moving down her lower back.
He attempted to kiss her on the lips then kissed her neck.”
She pulled away and managed to get to her home, from where she alerted police.
In the course of the incident, Boyd identified himself and the complainant carried out a trawl of local Facebook profiles and located him.
CCTV footage from the area is currently being examined and some have shown Boyd walking with the complainant and putting his arms around her.
Objecting to bail the detective said, “There are serious concerns of reoffending. The defendant knows what school this teenage girl attends.
“We are really worried about other children in the area. He is a registered sex offender as of April this year and has already shown form for similar offending. He has 24 previous convictions including one for sexual assault and has been flagged as a person of concern on a number of occasions in relation to child sexual exploitation”
A defence solicitor acknowledged the concerns but felt he could be released to a suitable address well away from Enniskillen.
He said, “Apart from the single sexual conviction the defendant’s previous record would be low-level nuisance behaviour. All of his problems stem from alcohol and fundamentally the court will want to know if he can get a grip on that, so a condition of bail could be him taking immediate steps to address his issues.”
The court heard during police interview Boyd, “Tried to engage but he had little coherent memory of the incident and that was the position in terms of the previous matter too. This case has a parallel insofar as there is no suggestion of physical threat or menace. Without seeking to diminish the allegations, it’s really quite pathetic, nuisance-type resulting from intoxication.”
But refusing bail District Judge Alana McSorley said, “This man is a registered sex offender and I’m not satisfied that the risks he poses can be managed. I’m concerned about the vulnerability of the complainant.”
Boyd will appear again by video-link at Enniskillen Magistrates Court on September 16.
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