Keith Smith, 72, found himself in a sticky situation when a member of the public caught him red-handed looking at pornography on a library computer. The incident occurred while he had his iPhone plugged in, and he was sitting next to a young girl at the time, as revealed in Manchester Crown Court.
Claiming he had received a ‘bad email,’ Smith’s excuse didn’t quite hold up when he was identified through library records and asked to hand over his phone for analysis, which he refused to do. Prosecutor Olivia Gatfield shared that Smith breached a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) imposed in 2011 after being caught with indecent images of children, which required him to show his internet history to the police upon request.
Despite his poor judgment, Smith managed to avoid additional charges, with his barrister, Naomi Duckworth, explaining that he used a friend’s phone as he didn’t own a smartphone. Concerned about involving his friend, Smith chose not to provide their details to the police.
Judge Hilary Manley handed down a suspended jail term to Smith, emphasizing the seriousness of breaching the SHPO and accessing pornography in a public place near a child. The court heard about Smith’s history of convictions for sex offenses, with the majority of his 21 offenses falling into that category.
Despite suffering from anxiety and depression, Smith must now complete an accredited program, engage in rehabilitation activities, and pay £150 in court costs as part of his sentence.