MARK URWIN OF JARROW SENT BACK TO PRISON AFTER POLICE DISCOVER 'SICKENING' CHILD ABUSE IMAGES
| Red Rose Database
Newcastle Jarrow Sexual Abuser
In January 2018, Mark Urwin, a formerly Jarrow-based sex offender, was重新监禁 after police uncovered a disturbing collection of child abuse images. Urwin, who previously received a five-and-a-half-year prison sentence and a lifetime sexual harm prevention order in 2014 for indecent assaults on three young girls in Jarrow during the 1990s, was released on strict license conditions in April of the previous year. One of these conditions required him to allow police to inspect his mobile phone upon request.
When an officer conducted a routine check in July, Urwin failed to disclose a mobile device that was found charging in his bedroom. He was arrested for attempting to conceal it. Police inspections revealed a horrifying cache of child abuse images—65 still and moving pictures, many classified in the highest categories of severity, as detailed by Emma Dowling, prosecuting.
Following his arrest, Urwin, assessed as posing a "high risk of serious harm to children," was recalled to prison to serve out the remainder of his previous sentence, which would keep him incarcerated until 2020. He remains on the sex offenders register for life and pleaded guilty to breaching his sexual harm prevention order and possessing indecent images of children.
Judge Edward Bindloss sentenced him to an additional 15 months in prison, noting that Urwin would be held until his scheduled release in 2020. The judge described Urwin as "manipulative and predatory," citing probation assessments. He told Urwin: "A police officer who was monitoring your SOPO visited the hostel to ask if you had a mobile phone. You denied it, claiming it was broken. It was not. There was one plugged in in your bedroom, which was found by staff. You were hiding the phone because of the images."
Urwin claimed that the phone's SIM card, containing the illicit images, had been given to him by another hostel resident, but Judge Bindloss stated, "Technical evidence suggests the phone was being used to search the internet for such images. That issue remains unresolved."
Urwin had a previous conviction from 1997 for indecent assault, which resulted in a probation order.
Earlier, in July 2014, Urwin, aged 49 and then residing in Jarrow, was jailed for over five years for molesting children in the 1990s. He appeared at Newcastle Crown Court admitting three historic indecent assault charges. Prosecutor Catherine Dunn said that one victim had reported him to police in 2011, leading to his arrest.
Victim reports prompted the 2014 case; Urwin had already been convicted in July 1997 of indecent assault and received a two-year probation order plus a sexual offences treatment program. In March 2001, he had also been jailed for nine months after firing air rifle shots at two youths following an incident involving their friends calling him a "nonce."
Defense lawyer David Lamb noted that these offenses were nearly 20 years old with no subsequent similar crimes, highlighting that Urwin had completed a treatment program deemed effective. He explained that Urwin’s offending followed the tragic death of his six-year-old son, which had a profound impact on him.
Judge James Goss QC sentenced Urwin to five years and six months in prison, placing an indefinite sexual harm prevention order on him and mandating his registration as a sex offender indefinitely. Addressing Urwin, Judge Goss acknowledged the passage of time but emphasized the trauma caused to victims and referenced Urwin’s personal struggles, mentioning alcohol use influenced by his circumstances.
When an officer conducted a routine check in July, Urwin failed to disclose a mobile device that was found charging in his bedroom. He was arrested for attempting to conceal it. Police inspections revealed a horrifying cache of child abuse images—65 still and moving pictures, many classified in the highest categories of severity, as detailed by Emma Dowling, prosecuting.
Following his arrest, Urwin, assessed as posing a "high risk of serious harm to children," was recalled to prison to serve out the remainder of his previous sentence, which would keep him incarcerated until 2020. He remains on the sex offenders register for life and pleaded guilty to breaching his sexual harm prevention order and possessing indecent images of children.
Judge Edward Bindloss sentenced him to an additional 15 months in prison, noting that Urwin would be held until his scheduled release in 2020. The judge described Urwin as "manipulative and predatory," citing probation assessments. He told Urwin: "A police officer who was monitoring your SOPO visited the hostel to ask if you had a mobile phone. You denied it, claiming it was broken. It was not. There was one plugged in in your bedroom, which was found by staff. You were hiding the phone because of the images."
Urwin claimed that the phone's SIM card, containing the illicit images, had been given to him by another hostel resident, but Judge Bindloss stated, "Technical evidence suggests the phone was being used to search the internet for such images. That issue remains unresolved."
Urwin had a previous conviction from 1997 for indecent assault, which resulted in a probation order.
Earlier, in July 2014, Urwin, aged 49 and then residing in Jarrow, was jailed for over five years for molesting children in the 1990s. He appeared at Newcastle Crown Court admitting three historic indecent assault charges. Prosecutor Catherine Dunn said that one victim had reported him to police in 2011, leading to his arrest.
Victim reports prompted the 2014 case; Urwin had already been convicted in July 1997 of indecent assault and received a two-year probation order plus a sexual offences treatment program. In March 2001, he had also been jailed for nine months after firing air rifle shots at two youths following an incident involving their friends calling him a "nonce."
Defense lawyer David Lamb noted that these offenses were nearly 20 years old with no subsequent similar crimes, highlighting that Urwin had completed a treatment program deemed effective. He explained that Urwin’s offending followed the tragic death of his six-year-old son, which had a profound impact on him.
Judge James Goss QC sentenced Urwin to five years and six months in prison, placing an indefinite sexual harm prevention order on him and mandating his registration as a sex offender indefinitely. Addressing Urwin, Judge Goss acknowledged the passage of time but emphasized the trauma caused to victims and referenced Urwin’s personal struggles, mentioning alcohol use influenced by his circumstances.