A convicted sex-offender has appeared in court charged with numerous counts of breaching a Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO) which a detective described as “just a snippet of a larger scale investigation” into fraud, blackmail and rape.

Scott Joseph Toothill (34) from Glendarragh Park, Ederney is charged with eight counts of breaching a SOPO some of which date back almost two years.

There are three counts each of unlawful use of a mobile phone and possessing SIM cards, as well as single counts of having a Smartphone and multiple SIM cards in contravention of his SOPO conditions.

Offending is alleged to have occurred on various dates between December 17, 2020 to November 9, 2022.

A detective sergeant told Dungannon Magistrates Court the charges could be connected.
The defence initially objected to the connection of three charges but following discussions agreed they could proceed unchallenged.

The detective described the case as “a complex and sophisticated operation and the current breach charges are just a snippet of a larger scale investigation".

She explained police carried out specific enquiries involving the examination of devices, which linked Toothill to a number of offences such as fraud, blackmail and rape.
“The injured parties aren't just in Northern Ireland with one located in Scotland,” she said. 
“In one of the rape cases the injured party provided police with a telephone number and App. When this was first reported to police we couldn’t identify a suspect, but when we had the defendant’s registered phone which was approved by police, we were able to establish there were other SIM cards. On researching the various telephone numbers for the SIMs, it came back to rapes, blackmail and frauds.”

She continued, “Even in respect of the reported rape, the description provided by the injured party matches the defendant. There’s more than one crime. Through extensive enquiries the defendant’s Designated Risk Manager has obtained information that attributes three different numbers to his phone. One is known to police as his registered number but is now linked to several malicious communication and blackmail matters.”
The SIM for a second number found in Toothill’s registered phone when seized is linked to rape and blackmail allegations.

A third SIM was also linked to malicious communications.

There was no application for bail and Deputy District Judge Sean O’Hare remanded Toothill in custody to appear again by video-link at Enniskillen Magistrates Court next month.

It’s not the first time Toothill has been accused of SOPO breaches. In 2013 he was caught using fake names on an online dating website.

Placed under the SOPO indefinitely for previous offending, he was permitted a basic phone but banned from accessing the internet.

Police carried out an unannounced inspection of Toothill’s home which confirmed there was no internet access. He said he had just one phone which was the approved device and number.

However when officers entered his bedroom, Toothill admitted another phone was hidden in a wardrobe, which had a camera and internet access.

He had used it over the previous few weeks and confirmed it was not registered with police.

On inspection, the phone was found to be registered with the ‘Plenty of Fish’ website and Toothill had stored details of this in a notebook.

He had used the false names ‘Eddie’ and ‘David’ and told police he enjoyed the website
Toothill also set up a fake Facebook account in a female name although no contact came from that.

He was jailed for three months.