CASTLEDERG MAN CAUGHT IN PAEDOPHILE STING SENTENCED TO JAIL

Nigel Andrew William Harpur, aged 52 and residing in Derg View, Castlederg, was caught attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child during a paedophile hunter sting. The incident involved exchanging explicit messages with a decoy posing as a 14-year-old. Harpur admitted to police during interrogation that he had tried to communicate sexually, stating, “Like, talk to them? Yes.” He also acknowledged owning the illicit messages on his phone. During questioning, he confessed, “I’m putting my hands up. There’s no point in wasting your time. It’s on my phone anyway. There’s no point in me trying to blow smoke, so I’m putting my hands up.” His messages revealed that he expressed being sexually aroused and asked the decoy if she knew what that meant, to which she replied, “No, not really.” Harpur then claimed he was going for a cold shower, admitting that he was driven by “man hormones.” The court sentenced him to 12 months in custody, which he had already served, and imposed a Sexual Offences Prevention Order, alongside ten years of mandatory registration as a sex offender. Judge Richard Greene highlighted the severity, stating: “You have an unhealthy and illegal interest in children. Had the communication been with a real child, the consequences would have been grave.” The case included images of Harpur during his arrest, along with explicit messaging and exchanges of private and sexual nature with the decoy.