EDWARD STANLEY LINDLEY CHILD SEX OFFENDER FACES JAIL AFTER INTERNET HISTORY DELETE

In May 2019, a serious case unfolded involving Edward Stanley, a pensioner from Lindley, who appeared in court charged with breaching his Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO) by deleting his internet browsing history. This incident is part of a troubling pattern of offences linked to the 67-year-old man, who has a long history of sexual offences involving children.

Stanley's criminal record dates back to 2010 when he was convicted of possessing hundreds of indecent images of children. At that time, he received a suspended prison sentence after police found more than 300 such images on his computer. The authorities also discovered magazines containing indecent images of children stored in a carrier bag in his attic, raising further concerns about his activities. The police investigation was triggered when a repair technician, working on another computer at Stanley’s residence on Le Marchant Avenue, uncovered links to child pornography websites. This discovery led to a detailed search of his property, resulting in the seizure of multiple devices and materials.

Following the initial conviction, Stanley was ordered to register as a sex offender and was subject to a five-year SOPO, which explicitly prohibited him from deleting his internet history or engaging in activities that could conceal his online activities. Despite these restrictions, an examination of his computers revealed that his browsing history had been erased, raising suspicions of a breach of the court order. The authorities found that the history was missing during a subsequent investigation, prompting charges against him for violating the terms of his SOPO.

Stanley, who suffers from multiple sclerosis, admitted to breaching the order between January 1 and November 30 of the previous year. His solicitor, Sajid Majeed, explained that Stanley had installed cleaning software on his computers, claiming the intention was to improve their performance by removing unnecessary files. Majeed emphasized that Stanley was aware of the restrictions imposed by his SOPO and accepted responsibility for his actions, asserting that there was no suggestion he had deliberately deleted evidence related to his previous offences. The legal argument centered on the fact that Stanley was subject to the court order and that his act of deleting browsing history constituted a breach.

In addition to the 2010 case, Stanley faced further charges in June 2013 at Bradford Crown Court, where he was convicted of similar offences. A five-year SOPO was imposed at that time, and since then, he has been under regular supervision by his offender manager and other authorities responsible for monitoring his compliance. These routine checks eventually led to the discovery of the recent breach.

During the hearing at Kirklees Magistrates’ Court, prosecutor Vicky Trueman described the deletion of the internet history as a deliberate act. She also revealed that an extremely pornographic image was recovered from Stanley’s computer, which he claimed was an old image from his previous court case. Deputy District Judge Natalie Wortley considered the case too serious for her to handle and committed Stanley to Leeds Crown Court for sentencing scheduled on June 11. She warned him that failure to attend could result in a warrant for his arrest. In response, Stanley stated that he could not leave his house and that police would need to arrest him if they wanted him to appear in court, saying, “I can’t do it. I don’t leave my house at all. I won’t go anywhere unless they take me there.” This statement underscores the ongoing difficulties and restrictions faced by Stanley due to his medical condition and his criminal history.