WHITEHAVEN SEX OFFENDER WILLIAM KIRKBRIDE BACK IN JAIL FOR NEW CRIMES
A FORMER Copeland councillor previously jailed for trying to arrange a sexual encounter with a 14-year-old boy is back in prison for flouting Sex Offender Register rules.The judge who originally jailed 61-year-old William James Kirkbride described him as a “predatory paedophile.” At Carlisle’s Rickergate court, the defendant admitted a raft of new offences, almost all of them linked to his failure to tell the police about internet enabled devices he owned and online accounts he had set up.
Kirkbride was obliged to declare all his online accounts and internet enabled devices under the terms of court orders designed to monitor his online activities.
The district judge dealing with the case sent it to Carlisle Crown Court for sentencing after ruling that the offending was too serious for a magistrates’ court to deal with.
Kirkbride, of Queen Street, Whitehaven, admitted three breaches of his sexual harm prevention order by failing to notify his police offender manager about internet enabled devices.
These devices were a Samsung J6 mobile phone, a Lenovo laptop, and a “Roku streaming device.” He also admitted five counts of breaching the terms of him being on the Sex Offender Register.
These offences consisted of him failing to notify police about online accounts he had for sites that included Facebook, X, an Outlook email address, and a dating site called FabGuys.
He also neglected to tell police about a bank account debit card he was using.
Prosecutor Diane Jackson told the court that Kirkbride told the police he had the devices which he failed to declare because he knew the police would take them from him.
She added that the prosecution view was that the sentencing powers available at the magistrates’ court were not sufficient.
The defendant was prosecuted two years ago for an earlier offence of failing to comply with the rules of being on the Sex Offender Register by failing declare he was using the Grindr dating app.
Kirkbride was represented in court by defence advocate David Wales, who did not make a bail application for the defendant.
District Judge Philip Holden told Kirkbride: “I am going to send your case to the crown court for sentence and you will next appear there on March 13.
I am ordering a pre-sentence report.
In the meantime, you will be remanded in custody.” In court, Kirkbride spoke only to confirm his personal details and to tell the court that he was pleading guilty to all eight of the allegations he faced.
