decoy case | 

Pensioner up in court on child sex charges after sting by paedophile hunters

It is understood that Hutchinson was arrested following an investigation by a group called Child Online Protection Enforcers NI

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An alleged pervert from Co Antrim has appeared in court facing sex offences after an operation by a so-called paedophile hunter group.

Standing in the dock of Ballymena Magistrates Court on Thursday, 68-year-old Stephen Ford Hutchinson was charged with two offences alleged to have been committed on August 1, 2022.

The pensioner, with an address on Curran Road in Larne, faces one allegation of attempting to communicate sexually with a child “for the purpose of obtaining sexual gratification” and one charge of having extreme pornography.

Giving evidence to the court, a police officer said she believed she could connect Hutchinson to both charges.

When District Judge Nigel Broderick enquired what age the child involved was, the officer confirmed “it’s a decoy case”.

It is understood that Hutchinson was arrested following an investigation by a group called Child Online Protection Enforcers NI.

Their members broadcast a half-hour video on social media where they alleged that Hutchinson had sent sexually explicit material to what he believed was a 14-year-old schoolgirl.

In court on Thursday Hutchinson confirmed that he understood the two charges against him and the Public Prosecution Service asked for the case to be adjourned for five weeks to allow time for a “full file” to be prepared.

Freeing Hutchinson on bail, Judge Broderick imposed bail conditions barring him from having unsupervised contact with children and also from having a device capable of internet access.