A registered sex offender snared by AI as he flouted a court order by viewing perverted internet images of children has been jailed.
Thomas Young, 34, had appeared at Carlisle Crown Court a decade ago when he was sentenced for inciting a girl aged under 13 to engage in sexual activity. As part of the punishment, Young was made subject to the strict terms of a sexual offences prevention order.
This imposed tough curbs on his online use for an indefinite period.
Young was twice brought back to court for breaching the order, once in 2023 and then again in early February, when he received a suspended prison sentence.
But within days of being spared jail, Young flouted the order once more.
A prosecutor told how software was installed on the defendant’s phone to capture and screenshot any activity which artificial intelligence deemed to be of a suspicious or concerning nature.
On March 15, two indecent category C images were logged. Three days later, a further four were detected along with one image classed in category A — the most serious — involving a girl aged 12 to 14.
All images had been accessed via the Telegram app.
And analysis showed that from February 11 — just days after he was given a suspended prison term for similar offending — and March 18, Young had installed and then uninstalled that app a dozen times.
It was a flagrant breach of an order designed to make all such data available for scrutiny, and display internet history.
In addition, Young was found to have flouted sex offender notification requirements by failing to disclose two online usernames which had been active around the turn of this year.
When brought to court Young admitted making indecent photographs of a child, breaching the order and twice flouting the notification requirements.
A defence lawyer said the defendant had been lonely and taken cocaine at around the time of his latest criminal conduct.
Judge Nicholas Barker jailed Young, latterly of Warwick Square, Carlisle, for 18 months.
New court orders placing restrictions on him, and an obligation to regularly provide police with personal information, were imposed for 10 years.
