Wigan pervert walks free from court for second time

Colin Hoyle, of Crompton Street, appeared in Bolton Crown Court this week accused of breaching the terms of a sentence handed to him back in May.

The 49-year-old had previously pleaded guilty at Wigan Magistrates’ Court to three charges of making indecent images of children after police found more than 50 disgusting images and photos on his laptop.

Because of the seriousness of the crimes he had then been committed to Bolton Crown Court where, earlier this year, a judge imposed a two-year community order on him.

He was instructed to complete 100 hours of unpaid work, and had imposed on him a 40-day rehabilitation order and a sexual harm prevention order.

The defendant was also told that he must regularly sign on the Sex Offenders’ Register for the next five years and that failure to complete these orders would see him back in court facing further charges, he was told.

However, after just four months, Hoyle was back in the dock for failing to attend planned appointments in August, a term of his community sentence.

A prosecutor for the probation service, told Judge Graeme Smith: “There are several problems that need to be addressed.

“He needs help with alcohol treatment. He has been struggling with the unpaid work requirement, and he has been submitting notes from his doctor.

“It is felt that unpaid work is something that won’t likely work for him.

“If the current community order is revoked and he is re-sentenced to another community order with six-months alcohol treatment and 40 days of rehabilitation activity requirement, those requirements of the order would enable him to get the help he needs.”

Hoyle, who was unrepresented at his most recent hearing, was caught searching for terms such as “prime jail bait” and “schoolgirl” when GMP officers executed a search warrant at his home last year and seized his Packard Bell laptop computer.

At his first sentencing, the court heard that more than half of the images fell into the most serious of the three categories.

Prosecutors explained at the time how he had looked for locally-sourced images and had searched for “Wigan schoolgirls”.

When police asked him during questioning if he had an interest in children he replied that there must be “something there”.

However, Hoyle avoided jail on that occasion and has done again this week.

Judge Smith accepted that Hoyle had been having “problems” with the unpaid work due to his health. Hoyle was re-sentenced, receiving a 20-month community order which includes a six-month alcohol treatment programme and 40 days of rehabilitation.

“You must attend the meetings,” said the judge. “If there’s a further breach you may find that the sentence on that occasion is more severe than this.”