Pervert sent back to prison after police discover 'sickening' collection of child abuse images

A "predatory" sex attacker who was caught with sickening child abuse images just weeks after being released from prison has been put back behind bars.
Urwin will be behind bars until 2020.Urwin will be behind bars until 2020.
Urwin will be behind bars until 2020.

Mark Urwin was jailed for five-and-a-half years and given a life-long sexual harm prevention order in 2014 for indecent assaults on three young girls in Jarrow in the 1990s.

In April last year, the 52-year-old, who is formerly from Jarrow, was released back on to the streets under strict licence conditions and sent to live in a hostel in Gateshead.

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One of the terms of his sexual harm prevention order required him to present his mobile phone to the police for inspection when required.

But when an officer carried out a spot check last July, Urwin failed to declare a phone which was found charging in his bedroom.

He was arrested as a result of trying to keep it hidden.

Newcastle Crown Court heard when the device was inspected by the police, a sickening collection of child abuse images was discovered.

Emma Dowling, prosecuting, told the court that the majority of the 65 still and moving images were in the most serious categories of their type.

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As a result of his arrest, Urwin, who has been assessed as posing a "high risk of serious harm to children" has now been recalled to prison to complete the five-and-a-half year sentence, which means he will be behind bars until the year 2020.

Urwin, who is on the sex offenders register for life. pleaded guilty to breach of a sexual harm prevention order (SOPO) and possessing indecent photographs of children.

Judge Edward Bindloss sentenced Urwin to 15 months imprisonment, although he will remain behind bars until his release date in 2020.

Judge Bindloss said probation officials have assessed Urwin to be "manipulative and predatory".

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The judge told Urwin: "A police officer who was monitoring your SOPO quite properly and in the course of her duty visited the hostel to ask you whether you had a mobile phone.

"You denied it, you said it was broken. That was a lie.

"There was one plugged in in your bedroom that was found by staff. You were hiding the phone from the police because of the images."

The court heard Urwin claims the phone sim card containing the images had been given to him by another resident at the hostel.

But Judge Bindloss told him: "Technical evidence suggests the phone was being used to search the internet to obtain those images.

"That is an issue that has not been resolved."

Urwin has an earlier conviction for indecent assault in 1997 for which he received a probation order.