Repeat sex offender jailed over indecent images of children

Monday 01 June 2020

A 34-year-old convicted sex offender has been jailed for six years by the Royal Court after officers found images showing him in sexual activity with male children on his phone, despite restraining orders limiting his contact with children online, and in real life.

Stephen Edward Facchino appeared in the Royal Court last week facing one count of making indecent images of children under 16, and two counts of possessing personal amounts of cannabis, which he admitted.

Facchino had previously been jailed for 18 months’ in October 2018 for attempting to meet a child following sexual grooming. 

He had suggested 13-year-old ‘James’, who was really local mother and self-styled ‘paedophile hunter’ Cheyenne O’Connor, should be his “slave” on a gay dating app. 

Two years before that, he had been sentenced to a six-month suspended prison sentence for looking at indecent images of children.

Pictured: Facchino was jailed in 2018 for attempting to meet a child following sexual grooming. 

During his sentencing in 2018, the Royal court imposed restraining orders limiting his access to children online and in real life for 10 years.

Shortly before Facchino’s release, a police officer met him to discuss the orders and what they meant. Facchino was told he would have to register any device capable of accessing the internet, even those the police had previously seized. 

On 27 August 2019, officers visited Facchino’s home to check his compliance with the use of electronic devices. He said the only one in his possession was a Samsung phone. It was seized after officers found a data log entry from July 2019 titled “Teen after school sex activities”. 

Officers then searched the house and found two other phones, a laptop, a Playstation and an Amazon tablet.

Facchino told officers he had presumed all the devices bar one were registered with the police as they had been in the force’s possession while he was in custody. 

He said he was going to register his new one but it had “totally slipped my mind”.   

Pictured: Officers found small amounts of cannabis in Facchino's home.

An analysis of the devices revealed forty-eight indecent images of boys under sixteen, including some showing Facchino in sexual activity with male children, on one of the phones. 

A small proportion of the images were taken by young males which could have been sent directly to Facchino, or from him downloading images from the internet.

Officers identified one of the boys in the videos through his school tie and confirmed he was 12.   

Facchino gave “no comment” answers to the questions put to him by officers. 

Officers also found a lump of cannabis as well as three zip-lock bags containing herbal cannabis, totalling 63.43 grams, which gave rise to two offences of possessing personal amounts of cannabis. 

On 8 September 2019, a police officer went to the Weighbridge following reports that a male wearing a dress was directing traffic. 

The officer saw Facchino with a group of young people, which included a boy under the age of 16. One of the group asked Facchino if he was a prostitute and the officer said he was “laughing and joking around with the children”. 

Due to the existence of the restraining order, the officer took Facchino away from the group and arrested him.

Pictured: A police officer saw Facchino with a group of young people near the Weighbridge.

During his interview, Facchino told officers he knew he was not allowed to have contact with males under the age of 16. 

“I can only really remember up to about half ten, half eleven and then that’s it I can’t really remember anything after that,” he added.

Facchino went on to say he only had a vague memory of being around the Weighbridge, adding his only defence was “drunkenness”.

“All I can do is apologise for breaking those conditions wholeheartedly,” he told officers. “I’ll have to put my hands up.” 

Facchino pleaded guilty to all charges against him and appeared before the Superior Number – a panel that only assembles for the most serious cases – last week. 

The Court imposed a six-year prison sentence and ordered for the devices and drugs to be destroyed.

They also extended the period Facchino’s name will remain on the Sex Offenders’ register to 10 years.

Pictured: Facchino appeared before the Superior Number – a panel that only assembles for the most serious cases – last week.

Finally, they amended the restrictive orders against Facchino, which will now be in force for 10 years.

They prevent him from living in the same house as anyone under the age of 16, unless the Police’s Offender Management Unit approves. 

Facchino is also unable to be alone with a child under the age of 16 or to contact or attempt to contact them, via any form of social media, internet or telecommunications system, unless a responsible adult, who is over the age of 21, aware of his convictions and not on the Sex Offenders' Register, is present.

He is also prohibited from owning any device capable of accessing the internet, unless it can retain the browsing history.