A sex offender previously jailed for attempting to meet an underage girl following online grooming is back behind bars.
Sean Yearnshire's latest jail term is for sexualised messaging with what he thought was a 13-year-old girl, committed only months after completing his licence period from a 27-month prison sentence, imposed in January 2023.
Durham Crown Court heard that the defendant responded to an online message sent to his TikTok user account in July this year.
Unknown to him, the message was sent by an undercover police officer posing as a 13-year-old girl.
Following Yearnshire's response to the message he was immediately told the girl with whom he believed he was chatting was aged 13.
The 26-year-old defendant replied that he was aged 16.
Elisha Marsay, prosecuting, said between August 14 and 21 he sent a number of sexualised messages to the ‘girl’, including images of his genitals and of him performing a sex act.
In response he tried to solicit intimate images of the girl and having received one token photo not featuring a face he asked for more, including asking for a video of her performing a sex act on herself.
The conversation ended on August 21 with Yearnshire telling the girl he loved her.
Miss Marsay told the court the defendant was arrested at his place of work on August 26 and mobile phones were seized from him both there and at his home address.
When interviewed he confirmed all the devices belonged to him, but he then largely gave no comment replies.
The court heard he has four previous convictions for ten offences and “of relevance” he received the 27-month sentence in January 2023 for sexual communication with a child and meeting a child following sexual grooming.
His licence period from that offence ended on April 19 this year, only months before this offending began.
The court was told as part of his licence supervision from the previous sentence, the defendant completed a probation-led Horizon course to address his sexual offending.
Yearnshire admitted attempting to cause a child to watch sexual activity and attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child, plus breach of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO), when he appeared before Newton Aycliffe magistrates on August 27.
All the offences were said to have been committed at an address in Consett, County Durham, in August, although the defendant's current address was given by the court was at Spires Lane, Byker, Newcastle.
The case was sent by the magistrates to the crown court for sentence.
Glenn Gatland, for the defendant, told the sentencing hearing that his client made his guilty pleas at the first court hearing.
He said the online contact in this case was not initiated by the defendant, but by an undercover officer posing as a 13-year-old girl, although the defendant did respond.
“It’s no substantial mitigation, but he wasn’t looking for make contact with anyone at the time and when contact was made, he felt lonely, living in supported accommodation.
“Feeling very lonely at that time, he responded to the initial contact and feels like he has let himself down badly and is sorry for what he did.
“He’s disappointed as he also feels like he has let the court and the Probation Service down, having been given help in the past.”
Mr Gatland added that despite his personal issues the defendant was trying to better himself and was training in the hope of setting up his own business.
Judge Nathan Adams said having been restricted in his use of the internet by way of the SHPO imposed as part of his last sentence, which included a condition not to have contact with children, as well as having completed the Horizon programme as part of his licence supervision, Yearnshire went on to commit these offences only months later.
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“To act in that way so shortly after release from a sentence for similar activity, and in the face of an order made to prevent you engaging in that type of behaviour is a serious offence.”
Imposing a 20-month prison sentence, Judge Adams told the defendant he remains subject to the existing SHPO for the next seven-and-a-half years.
But the judge put in place a new ten-year notification period during which the defendant must register with police as a sex offender when released from prison.
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