A PAEDOPHILE who had special software that prevented forensic experts finding out what he was doing online has been jailed.

A police officer suspected Brian Neil Epps had been searching for sexual images of children online when he made an unannounced inspection of the 75-year-old man’s laptops, said James Howard, prosecuting.

But when police forensic experts tried to investigate what was on one of his computers, they found it had had blocking software installed by its user. Epps claimed he didn’t know about the software.

Police were monitoring him because he was on a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) made in 2013 when he was jailed for four years for prolonged sexual abuse of children.

Epps, of Gateland Close, Haxby, pleaded guilty to two breaches of the SHPO and failure to provide a password or similar information to unlock the blocking software.

“I have no hesitation in saying you knew exactly what was on the computer,” said Judge Simon Hickey.

Epps was jailed for 15 months and must pay £600 prosecution costs by February 22 following his release. The SHPO remains in force, York Crown Court heard.

Epps’ barrister Andrew Semple said no indecent images of children were found on any of the three laptops seized by police.

He lived an isolated life and had “increasingly bad health”. He needed two sticks to walk and did so slowly. He also had internal health problems.

His life was spent mostly in his flat and he didn’t go out much.

Mr Howard said the police officer’s unannounced visit was on April 13, 2019. On April 14, 2021, another police visit revealed that Epps had a computer he had not declared to the police as he had to under the SHPO and that he had not declared it during an earlier visit on November 3, 2020.