Child sex offender admits breach and is jailed for six months

Sex offender Lloyd Alexander McIntosh was jailed for six months for having a cellphone that could access the internet, in breach of his extended supervision order. Photo / Herald

Concerns about the safety in prison of one of New Zealand's worst sex offenders has led to him being sentenced immediately after he admitted breaching his extended supervision conditions.

Lloyd Alexander McIntosh, 49, waived his right to a pre-sentence report so that Christchurch District Court Judge Stephen O'Driscoll could jail him straight away.

Defence counsel Andrew Bailey said the sentencing would remove McIntosh from the remand wing at prison where he has been held since his arrest on May 23.

"For someone of Mr McIntosh's profile and background, when these charges are added, his safety is problematic at the moment," said Bailey. "He will be in a safer environment once he is sentenced."

McIntosh, appearing in court by video-link from the prison, told the judge he agreed to be sentenced straight away and pleaded guilty to charges of breaching his extended supervision order and failing to comply with his reporting obligations.

The charges involve restrictions on his access to internet-capable devices. He had reported to his police case manager that he had one old cellphone but a search of his address found another mobile phone capable of accessing the internet in his bedroom.

In 2004, McIntosh became the first offender to be subject to a 10-year extended supervision order, and this has since been replaced by the current order imposed in 2015. He has been convicted of sex offending against young children.

After his pleas, the probation officer in court requested that the judge impose a six-month jail term. She said: "This is so he can recalibrate, and they can come up with a really good plan for when they release him."

Judge O'Driscoll imposed concurrent six-month jail terms, as requested by probation, and made an order for the destruction of the internet-capable phone, as requested by the police. He said that obtaining the usual pre-sentence report may have taken a long time, but since McIntosh waived his right to that, the sentencing could go ahead immediately.

The concurrent terms mean the total jail term is six months.