A County Tyrone man who repeatedly breached a Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO) by loitering around hospital facilities has avoided prison.
However, the court was advised because there were no further offences of a sexual nature arising from the breaches and the existing SOPO has now expired, there is no power to impose a new order, leaving the public and the facilities in question without the protection it afforded.
Bernard Joseph McDonagh and known as Brian McDonagh (54) from Sydney Lane, Aughnacloy admitted remaining in South West Acute Hospital in Enniskillen without reasonable excuses after being discharged on June 23, 2024.
He also admitted committing the same offence on July 14, 2025.
A few months ago he had also admitted breaching the SOPO at Omagh Urgent Care and Treatment Centre when he entered medical premises without prior appointment and not in an emergency on July 8 2024. This occurred just a fortnight after he committed the same offence at South West Acute Hospital the first time.
The SOPO was originally imposed for a number of sexual convictions and further conditions were added when McDonagh offended in a hospital setting.
The latest matters were conjoined for sentencing at Dungannon Crown Court which heard the current SOPO expired in May as did Sex Offender Registration which meant the only restrictions in place since then were bail conditions.
Judge Brian Sherrard noted prior to the orders expiring, McDonagh “breached them on multiple occasions” on top of the latest matters.
He said: “This is a problematic case because what was done by attending a hospital for anyone else would be entirely lawful. No further sexual offending occurred, The defendant clearly acted as a nuisance and the court is left in a situation where there is no protection for such important facilities. The court has a principle role to ensure the public is properly protected but I do not have the power to make a further SOPO as a result of these breaches
Judge Sherrard pointed to McDonagh’s very poor record for many varied offences but accepted there were also some “vulnerabilities”.
Addressing McDonagh directly, he said: “In order to try to provoke your rehabilitation, give you proper guidance and chiefly to protect our community the best way forward in a 12 month Probation Order.”
Concluding, he stressed this will involve conditions around unnecessary attendances at hospitals and failing to adhere to this would be a breach of the Probation Order.
“Should that occur you will be brought back to court and re-sentence, and the only real option is immediate custody,” said Judge Sherrard.
