Latest news with #SOPO
Sunday World
5 days ago
- Sunday World
Convicted paedophile on remand complains about delays
Defence solicitor Eoghan McKenna told Belfast Magistrates Court 'the American consulate have been on to us about his case' An American software developer turned pervert, currently on remand facing multiple breaches of his Sexual Offences Prevention Order, has complained to the American consulate about the lack of progress in his case, a court has heard. During a brief mention of the case against Matthew O'Hare, defence solicitor Eoghan McKenna told Belfast Magistrates Court 'the American consulate have been on to us about his case.' 'Mr O'Hare had made contact with them and had raised concerns about delay,' said the lawyer, adding that as the 63-year-old made admissions 'it should not be the most complicated case.' O'Hare, with an address at Glenwood Mews in Dunmurry, is in custody facing two sets of charges accusing the American of breaching his SOPO and the requirements of the Sex Offenders Register. In his Belfast case, O'Hare is alleged to have breached the SOPO and the requirements of the Sex Offenders Register, between May 9-15 this year, by failing to register his home address. In a separate Lisburn case, O'Hare is charged with two SOPO breaches and a further allegation that he breached the requirements of the police sex offenders register. The particulars of the SOPO breaches, allege that O'Hare had 'two apps on his phone' which he did not have permission for on 14 October last year and further that on 29 April this year, he had two mobile phones, again without permission of his Designated Risk Manager. The sex register offence alleges that on 7 December, O'Hare failed to make his annual notification of his name, address and DOB. The court has heard that O'Hare is a 'category one offender' with a SOPO in place until March 2027. The first alleged breach related to a home visit last October when O'Hare's Designated Risk Manager (DRM) attended his home and when he examined O'Hare's phone, the officer noted there were two social media apps which the defendant had not sought permission for. The officer also noted that part of the web history on multiple dates had also been deleted 'and that is a further breach.' Moving to events in December, DC Ross said routine system checks noted that O'Hare had not completed his annual re-notification, adding that to date 'that still has not been completed.' The alleged breach on 29 April related to another home visit when, after 'inviting' O'Hare to come in to be formally interviewed, the defendant produced two mobile phones for which 'he does not have approval for, and nor had he registered the devices.' 'On the 2nd May he attended Musgrave Street where he was arrested and when he was searched, two mobile phones were found,' DC Ross told the court. Having been freed on bail, the Belfast case relates to breaches on 9 May and in court on Friday, Mr McKenna confirmed that while the PPS have not yet received the full file, 'there were admissions made so it should not be the most complicated case…it's not one of the more sinister breaches.' Remanding O'Hare back into custody, District Judge George Conner adjourned the case to 25 July. Previous courts have heard how Oregon native O'Hare said in a newspaper interview in 2016 that he moved to Northern Ireland to 'escape intolerance in his homeland.' In 2019 however, he was arrested and charged with making and possessing indecent images of children, possessing an extreme pornographic image and contacting a child for the purpose of sexual gratification. At Craigavon Crown Court in 2021, he was handed a three-year probation order but that was revoked a few months later after the 62-year-old assaulted his probation officer. Having heard that O'Hare had been physically attacked and burnt out of his home in an arson attack, Judge Patrick Lynch KC said that 'seems in your mind to have translated into you being a victim rather than a perpetrator of criminal behaviour and your reaction to the people who tried to give assistance is totally reprehensible.' Imposing a one-year sentence at that stage, three months to be served in jail and the rest on licence, Judge Lynch said given he breached it in an 'egregious fashion,' he had no other option but to jail him.
Sunday World
26-06-2025
- Sunday World
Pervert pensioner told to attend court or face arrest
'Delusional' Stephen Hutchinson was due to be sentenced in Ballymena Magistrates Court today A judge warned today he was issuing an arrest warrant for a convicted sex offender if he fails to appear in court. 'Delusional' Stephen Ford Hutchinson was due to be sentenced in Ballymena Magistrates Court today after the 70-year-old admitted breaching his Sexual Offences Prevention Order. Defence counsel Nadine Knight admitted however that Hutchinson had not attended amid claims that he is 'unwell.' 'He contacted the solicitor to say that he is unwell and had been with the GP on Tuesday with a potential diagnosis of vertigo,' she told District Judge Nicole Broderick, adding that despite being asked for a letter to that effect, Hutchinson had not provided anything. Stephen Ford Hutchinson when he was caught by a paedophile hunter group The pensioner, from the Curran Road in Larne, had been due to be sentenced over a SOPO breach in that he had admitted he had accessed social media and communicated with another person on 7 April this year. The SOPO, an order designed to protect the public, was put in place last year after Hutchinson was convicted of of attempting to sexually communicate with a child between 18 July and 1 August 2022. The pensioner, who had also entered guilty plea to three charges of having extreme pornography, had been ensnared by a paedophile hunter group whose decoy had been posing as a 14-year-old girl. During the contest, Hutchinson's testimony was at times bizarre as he claimed that he was a 'digital soldier' helping to combat against 'dark forces' involved in 'molesting children and sexualising children, indoctrinating them in schools and cannibalism.' 'I believe it involves Satanic ritual child abuse and world wide trafficking of children,' the 70-year-old told the court, claiming that at the time of the offending he had been 'tracking what was purported to be the greatest military intelligence operation in the history of the planet.' 'It was an online thing, I'm not a member of it, just tracking that's all and we had been led to believe that there was an emergency alert system imminent whereby a world wide alert had been put out and the military would come in and take over. Stephen Ford Hutchinson News in 90 Seconds - June 26th 'There was something else in that military intelligence operation called White Spall, all through covid and in that particular week the Japanese PM had been shot and it was believed, by my research, that it was faked. 'We had Star Trek in the sky, we had Mount Vesuvius erupting and the Vatican went on fire so I was in a state where I thought this is it, the emergency alert was imminent,' claimed Hutchinson, describing it as 'a very strange mental place to be.' When he sentenced the pensioner to five months, suspended for three years, Judge Broderick said it was clear from Hutchinson's 'presentation at court and from what he has told probation that he is living in a different world - he seems to be delusional.' In court today Judge Broderick adjourned the case for a week but warned that if Hutchinson failed to attend again with no good reason, 'I'm likely to issue a warrant.'
Wales Online
26-06-2025
- Wales Online
Paedophile asked decoys he thought were teens if they could do 'naked stuff'
Paedophile asked decoys he thought were teens if they could do 'naked stuff' David Taylor, 43, of Barry, was caught by a paedophile hunting group after having sexual conversations with who he thought were 15 and 14-year-old girls respectively 'Predatory paedophile' David Taylor, 43, sent sexualised messages to decoys he thought were teenage girls (Image: South Wales Police ) A "predatory paedophile" sent sexualised messages to who he thought were teenage girls and asked them if they could do "naked stuff". He was described as having an "appalling" record for paedophilic offences, including indecent assaulting and inciting children into sexual activity. David Taylor, 43, of Barry, was reported to the police by a "vigilante paedophile hunting group" after he had spoken to two decoys who he believed were 15 and 14-year-old girls respectively. As a result of this, he was in breach of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order which had been imposed by the courts. A sentencing hearing at Cardiff Crown Court on Thursday heard the first conversation was with a decoy named "Frankie" who told the defendant she was a 14-year-old. For the latest court reports sign up to our crime newsletter. Taylor did not use his real name, and used a social media tagline of "TheDude123". During the conversation, the defendant attempted to groom "Frankie", asked her about sex and sent her links to pornographic websites. He told "Frankie" he was there to "educate her", gave descriptions of masturbation, told the decoy he was masturbating, and asked her to open her legs and "rub" between them. Article continues below Prosecutor Alex Greenwood said Taylor told the decoy to touch her vagina, asked about her underwear and asked her to send pictures of her "rubbing herself". The defendant began communication with the second decoy on April 27, who he believed to be a 15-year-old girl named "Lily", The conversation was similar in nature to that of the first decoy, with Taylor asked "Lily" if she wanted to "get naked", asked her if she wanted to see him naked and made reference to masturbation He made requests for images and asked "Lily" if she wanted to meet up with him, asking "Do you want to do naked stuff at mine?". The defendant described being "sexually aroused" and said he was masturbating during their conversation.. Taylor, of Thompson Street, was arrested and later pleaded guilty to arranging/facilitating a child sexual offence, attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child, attempting to cause/incite a child to engage in sexual activity, breaching sex offender notification requirements, and attempting to meet a girl under 16 by grooming. Mr Greenwood said the defendant has a "significant and appalling record" of seven convictions. These include; indecently assaulting a female under 14 and gross indecency with a child under 16 in 2005, breaching a Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO) in 2007, further breaches of the SOPO in 2010, multiple offences of causing/inciting a child to engage in sexual activity in 2013, breaches of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) in 2018 and further breaches of the SHPO in 2024. In mitigation, Peter Donnison said his client had been making efforts to earn qualifications while in prison, but he was finding it difficult to find employment when released because of his previous convictions. It was also said the defendant suffered a head injury as a child and has been diagnosed with arrested hydrocephalus. Sentencing, the Recorder of Cardiff, Judge Tracey Lloyd-Clarke said Taylor's sexual attraction to children was so strong he "struggled to pass them in the street". The judge added: "You are a predatory paedophile who uses children on the internet to gratify your own powerful and long standing sexual urges." Taylor was sentenced to seven years imprisonment, with an extended licence period of five years. Article continues below He was also made subject to sex offender notification requirements indefinitely.
Sunday World
16-06-2025
- Sunday World
Former teacher jailed over sex abuse of two boys back in court
With William Maher appearing by video link from prison, defence counsel Michael Boyd confirmed the 38-year-old was entering guilty pleas to each of the eight charges against him A former teacher and youth group leader turned pervert, recently jailed for sex offences against two boys, was back in court to admit multiple breaches of his Sexual Offences Prevention Order With William Maher appearing at Newtownards Magistrates Court by video link from prison, defence counsel Michael Boyd confirmed the 38-year-old was entering guilty pleas to each of the eight charges against him. Maher, currently serving a two year sentence but who has an address at Shaftesbury Drive in Bangor, admitted eight counts of breaching his SOPO in that between 8 June last year and 23 January this year, he used public computers at libraries in Bangor, Holywood and Ballyhackamore in east Belfast. The 'sexual predator' had only been handed the SOPO, along with a three year probation order, in May 2024. Opening the facts of the case, a prosecutor told District Judge Conor Heaney how Maher is a registered sex offender and as such, he is restricted on what devices he can use to access the Internet and any that he does use, have to be registered and approved by his Designated Risk Manager (DRM). Earlier this year, 'a concerned member of the public' contacted police to report they had spotted Maher using a computer at Ballyhackamore library. Officers conducted enquiries and established that Maher 'had attended various libraries and had accessed the computers' but that at no point, had he alerted or sought permission from his DRM. Arrested and interviewed, Maher 'made admissions' but claimed he was using the computers to print off documents relating to his mother selling her house. Mr Boyd conceded that Maher's claims 'might raise slight suspicion' but he submitted there was no evidence to the contrary and further, there was also no evidence that apart from the use of the computers, that he had done anything more sinister. 'His career has been shattered of course,' the barrister highlighted, 'and his whole life has been destroyed by his behaviour.' At the time of the breaches, Maher had just been sentenced in the Crown Court case where he sexually abused two boys. Described by a detective as a 'sexual predator,' Maher had entered guilty pleas to three counts of sexual communication with a child and three counts of causing or inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual offences on dates between 1 Sept 2021 and 24 May 2022. William Maher News in 90 seconds - 16th June 2025 In May last year, Maher was put on probation for three years and also made the subject of a five year SOPO which was deemed 'necessary and proportionate' to protect against further offending. The former teacher and youth group leader, who was also ordered to sign the police sex offenders register for five years, admitted charges of engaging in sexual communication with two young boys, one between 6-25 May 2022 and a further child on dates between 20 August 2018 and 1 July 2019. Last month, he was handed a two year sentence and ordered to serve half in jail and half under supervised licence conditions after two further victims found the bravery to come forward. In court, Judge Heaney told Maher it was 'very significant' that he breached the SOPO, an order put in place 'and designed to protect the public,' within weeks of it being imposed. He imposed two month jail sentences on each of the eight counts and ordered them to be served concurrently to the sentence Maher is already serving so 'that will not affect your release date.'
New York Post
30-05-2025
- Business
- New York Post
NYC fast-casual lunch spots offer refuge from the 'sad salad'
These take the 'mid' out of Midtown. With NYC workers flocking back to the office in record numbers, working stiffs are seeking quick and tasty lunch options without paying through the nose. More often than not, they end up with the ubiquitous 'sad' salad, an expensive amalgam of cold rabbit foods crunched catatonically at one's desk while one scrolls social media. Hawked at such hotspots like Sweetgreen and Chopt, these soulless roughage bowls have inundated Midtown, offering little sustenance for the ever-growing throngs of desk jockeys in NYC, where post-pandemic visits to office buildings in April were just 5.5% below 2019 levels — a national record, according to the platform. 12 A mixed bowl with purple rice, soy eggs, kimchi, steak and more at SOPO, the hot new fast-casual Korean concept in Midtown. Stefano Giovannini '[It's] hard to find food that actually tastes good [and] that's not just rushed,' Sade Quianes, who works for a streaming company in the city, told The Post. The '$20 salad' was notably lampooned on TikTok by singer 'Awkward' Marina Sneider, who crooned in her viral ditty, 'it isn't even good and you're not even wealthy, but you need all your coworkers to think you're super healthy.' Thankfully, there is a growing fraternity of Midtown fast-casual restaurants that provide convenience without sacrificing flavor — and they're increasingly eating 'sad' salads for lunch. As a service to hangry workers, here are five of the best, because Gotham deserves a better class of midday meal. Seoul food at SOPO SOPO achieves the difficult task of condensing Korean staples like beef bulgogi and crispy scallion dumplings into one convenient takeout dish. Opened with the intent of bringing 'Michelin-quality Korean food to Midtown,' SOPO (whose name means 'Parcel' in Korean) is helmed by co-founder Tae Kim and Chef Dennis Hong, an alum of Michelin-starred Le Bernadin. 'We wanted to do a well-executed version that's very delicious, but it's also hassle-free,' Kim told The Post. He was inspired in part by his years working at a Tribeca bank where he'd have to scrounge up edible eats off Seamless on a $25 stipend. 12 'You can come here and get authentic Korean food and still very affordable,' gushed SOPO customer Sade Quianes. Stefano Giovannini 12 'I want a variation in the texture and flavor of the different things rather than having a lot of the same,' said SOPO co-founder Tae Kim while describing how he planned to distinguish himself from the typical fast-casual spot. Stefano Giovannini To order, customers select their bases ranging from salad to Korean purple rice (a mix of black and white rice), proteins such as steak or chicken, garnishes like crispy seaweed and sides including kimchi and soy-dipped eggs. These can be topped with a palette of sauces ranging from a Korean chili paste to one with perilla leaves, tarragon and coconut yogurt. Total price for a Seoul Steak Signature Plate: $16.48 'You can come here and get authentic Korean food and still very affordable,' gushed Quianes while toting a dish of dumplings and rice, which is cooked on-site in olive oil and giant sheets of Korean kelp for maximum umami. 12 SOPO co-founder Tae Kim said the goal was to allow customers to build their own bowls but ensure that every possible 'permutation' makes sense culinarily. Stefano Giovannini One difference is that SOPO doesn't 'mix' anything together to avoid discordant flavor combos. 'It's intended that everything is had separately as its own gourmet dish, because I feel like that's the only way that every permutation really works,' said Kim. Those who want their lunch in wrap form can opt for the kimbap, Korean 'sushi rolls' featuring chicken, beef, tofu and more fillings ($13.49) that are hand-rolled in front of customers and swaddled in foil to go — essentially SOPO's answer to Chipotle. SOPO, 463 7th Ave. between 35th and 36th Streets The Toast Of Mid-town 12 A sprawling Spicy Crab toast at Toastique. Stefano Giovannini 12 Toastique at 445 5th Ave near Bryant Park. Stefano Giovannini Healthful toast and juice bars have become almost cliche in NYC, but this newly-opened Washington D.C.-based transplant elevates the well-trodden concept with responsibly-sourced and unqiue accouterments. Some of the Gourmet Toasts, which are served atop bloodcurdlingly-crunchy bread as big as a battle cruiser, include Spicy Crab ($17) with lump crab, melted Swiss and Fontina cheese, tomatoes and more — like a jumbo crostini. Other toppings include avocado mash — the millennial catnip — prosciutto and even peanut butter and berry jam that's made in-house sans preservatives. Those looking for something lighter can opt for their fruit and granola bowls and wash it down with their all-natural smoothies or cold-pressed juices. Toastique, 445 5th Ave. near East 39th Street Dim sum and substance 12 Roast pork and duck over rice at Dim Sum Sam. Stefano Giovannini With its tiny breakfast baskets of chicken feet and lotus-wrapped sticky rice, dim sum might not seem like office-friendly fare. Thankfully, Dim Sum Sam makes the traditional Cantonese sit-down brunch to go and at any time of day — like China's version of Denny's all-day breakfast but high quality. They boast four locations across town in Fidi, Chinatown, the Flatiron district and a newly-opened branch in Times Square. Unlike many fast-casual options, Dim Sum Sam also notably hand-crafts each piece of dim sum fresh by hand. 12 Dim Sum Sam customers Miranda (left) and Andrea posing with a roast pork and duck rice bowl. Stefano Giovannini Along with bamboo basket standbys like chicken feet, shrimp dumplings and Portuguese egg tarts, the dim sum depot also hawks portable bowls. These include BBQ roast pork over rice ($11.95), shrimp and pork wonton soup ($8.95) and even a speedball of roast duck and pork over rice ($13.95). 'If you can't find your Chinese aunt or mom in the morning, I know where they are,' quipped frugal foodie @ in a video review of Dim Sum Sam. Dim Sum Sam, 240 W 40th Street between 7th and 8th Avenues Midtown Eastern 12 A Chicken Shawarma bowl at NAYA, which condenses vibrant and diverse Lebanese cuisine into convenient to-go bowls. Stefano Giovannini This Lebanese juggernaut offers the same choose-your-own-adventure format as its 'sad' salad counterparts, but with vibrant toppings like beef shawarma and lamb kebab over vermicelli rice that's adorned with yogurt, hummus and paired with pita (for around $13.99) — they're not selling glorified airplane food here. Founder Hady Kfoury told The Post that NAYA distinguishes itself via quality components like tahini and pickles sourced from Lebanon and hummus that's soaked for 24 hours, boiled all day, blast chilled and whacked with tahini and lemon. 12 The line at NAYA near Bryant Park. Stefano Giovannini He also said that the chain makes food that's hard for the average cook to recreate. 'During the pandemic, everybody baked bread at home, everybody created salads,' Kfoury said. 'You're not able to replicate NAYA at home because of the ingredients.' Kfoury said he hopes to have 45 branches by the end of this year with the latest one opening near Rockefeller Center on June 11 if all goes well. NAYA, 9 W 42nd Street near Fifth Avenue Treasure of the Sierra Madras 12 A dosa without filling at Madras Dosa, a South Indian chain that originated in Boston. Stefano Giovannini 12 Customers Raj Srinivas Krishna Srinivas at Madras Dosa. Stefano Giovannini Also ideal for casual fry-day is this Boston transplant, which recently opened a new branch in Times Square and specializes in dosas, a parchment-thin South Indian savory rice and lentil crepe. They have around 30 customizable options, ranging from savory options like spicy potatoes ($16.33), Lays' Indian-flavored chips and lamb to unorthodox sweet versions such as strawberry jam and Nutella. Other notable lunchable fare includes chaats, fried dough topped with various herbs and chutneys, best washed down with a tangy, creamy mango lassi. Madras Dosa, 30 Rockefeller Center, Concourse Level
