A former music instructor who received a lifetime teaching ban after being found with thousands of indecent photographs of children has been handed another suspended prison term for violating a court order designed to restrict his activities.
In December 2023, Donal Donnelly, then aged 58 and from Rossefield Road in Heaton, Bradford, was sentenced to eight months imprisonment suspended at York Crown Court.
He had been discovered in possession of more than 2,000 indecent images of minors.
As part of that sentence, he was required to adhere to the conditions of a five-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order.
During a routine inspection by public protection officers in April the following year, investigators discovered that Donnelly had been using private browsing functions on his mobile device, meaning his internet activity was not being recorded as required.
The defendant, now 61, later acknowledged during police questioning that he had removed his browsing history because he felt ashamed about accessing adult pornography.
Proceedings did not commence until recently.
When Donnelly appeared before magistrates, he admitted two breaches of the Sexual Harm Prevention Order.
The matter was subsequently referred to Bradford Crown Court for sentencing.
Presiding over the case, Recorder Ayesha Smart noted that the order had been established to safeguard the community, particularly children, and to allow authorities to monitor the defendant’s online activity.
While she acknowledged that the breaches stemmed from embarrassment, she emphasised that Donnelly had knowingly violated a court order.
The judge determined that a six-month custodial sentence was appropriate, though current sentencing guidelines require that all prison terms under 12 months be suspended unless exceptional reasons exist.
The sentence was therefore suspended for 18 months, and Donnelly must complete 30 rehabilitation activity requirement days.
Donnelly will now be subject to a further Sexual Harm Prevention Order that remains in effect until 2031.
In 2025, a hearing before the Teaching Regulation Agency resulted in his permanent exclusion from the teaching profession.