Former Member of the 'British Armed Forces' found guilty of 'sexual communication' with a child in an online chat room in what he presumed was a '13-year-old girl' but was in fact a 'covert police officer'

A FORMER member of the armed forces who pleaded guilty to a charge relating to a 'sexual communication' with what he thought was a 13-year-old girl, has been given a five months prison sentence, suspended for three years.

          Ballymena Magistrates Court 

               November 24th, 2022. 

He pleaded guilty to the offence which was committed on July 8, 2020.

John Robert Hogg (66), of Curran Road in Larne, has also been ordered to sign the Sex Offender's Register for seven years and he has been made the subject of a Sexual Offences Prevention Order for five years.

A prosecutor told Ballymena Magistrates' Court as part of 'Operation Arrowwood' a "covert" police officer pretended to be a 13-year-old "under the profile name 'Wee Cute Abs'."

A communication started online in a "chatroom" and then moved to Messenger.

The prosecutor said that during the online exchanges, Hogg said he was aged 49 and from Larne.

"The decoy then indicated she was 13 years old and she was on summer holidays and was bored," the court heard.

Hogg made a sexually explicit remark and asked if she had any "sex toys".

The defendant then gave a phone number and when arrested he told police he used the "platform for sexualised chats" and confirmed his phone number to be the one used.

A defence barrister said Hogg previously had a "lengthy career in the armed forces".

He said Hogg had a "number of marriages" which broke down due to the "consumption of alcohol".

The lawyer said the defendant has "alcohol-induced dementia".

District Judge Nigel Broderick said it was a "very serious" offence and told Hogg: "Thankfully, in this case there was no actual child at the end of your communications but you were not to know that and you obviously entered into this communication thinking you were communicating with a very young child."

The judge added: "It is not without significance that you have been diagnosed with dementia and that appears to have been as a result of an addiction to alcohol and I do recognise that a custodial sentence may have a more significant impact on you than it would on somebody else who didn't suffer from such a condition".

He added that "not without some hesitation" he was not jailing Hogg but handed down a five months sentence, suspended for three years.

The judge said to "augment that" he was also putting in place a Sexual Offences Prevention Order "to make sure that you are properly monitored in future and to reduce the risk of re-offending".

Conditions of the Order include Hogg having no contact with children under 16 unless approved by his Designated Risk Manager and social services "save for every day, inadvertent, and unavoidable contact" and he is not to use social media "without prior approval of your Designated Risk Manager".

Hogg also must register any "internet-capable device and mobile phone" with the police and his Designated Risk Manager.

With many thanks to: Court News NI and the Court Reporter (Nevin) for the original story. 

Follow this link to to find out more on this story: Allowing sex offenders register at any divisional Garda Station allows them to go undetected, TD warns

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Former member of armed forces made 'sexual comments' in online chat with what he thought was a '13-year-old girl' but it was in fact a covert police officer