February 2014
Sex offender breaches order
A SEX OFFENDER previously convicted of secretly filming children has been remanded in custody after breaching the terms of a court order by loitering around a supermarket’s toilets.
Matthew Quirk was spotted by plain clothes police officers entering toilets in Tesco, Langtree Park on January 13.
This was in breach of a Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO) which had been imposed last August preventing him from entering a public toilet.
The order was brought against Quirk, who was convicted of two counts of voyeurism in 2006 and received a suspended jail sentence, after he was spotted acting suspiciously in The Range store in St Helens last year.
A woman had made an allegation that Quirk had followed her child into the toilets on two occasions.
Although no criminal offence was committed, police took out civil action against him due to his previous pattern of behaviour.
In a hearing at St Helens Magistrates’ Court the 31-year-old from Phoenix Brow, who was dressed in a grey prison sweatshirt listened as prosecutor Angela Blackmore outlined how he had breached the order by going into public toilets at the Tesco store last month.
“The officer entered the male toilets where there were two urinals, both of which were unoccupied. One of the cubicles was locked.
“As the officer went into the next cubicle the other was unlocked and he heard water running. As he (officer) opened the door the defendant was seen walking away.
“There was no one else in the toilets. He was then seen going back to the toilets a short time later, leaving quickly as if he had gone in and gone straight back out.
“He was approached by two officers and arrested.”
Mrs Blackmore said that during interview Quirk admitted he had been ‘daft’ for going into Tesco toilets because he knew it breached his SOPO.
She said that he accepted he needed help with his attraction to under age children and didn’t want to put “anyone else in harm or have any more victims”.
On the day in question Quirk had returned from an appointment in Liverpool and claimed to have visited Tesco because he had an upset stomach.
However Mrs Blackmore said that he had spent several hours in St Helens including at his home address.
He was also seen in the Matalan store looking at children’s clothing before going to the supermarket.
Quirk has six convictions for 27 offences, nine of which were sexually related.
Magistrates dismissed appeals for his release on bail saying that the matter was so serious that only crown court could deal with the matter.
He was remanded in custody until a sentencing date in March.
