An anonymity order on a sex offender who sought to rape a 10-year-old girl has been overturned following a court challenge.

Steven John Dowson, 49, from Augher, County Tyrone, was caught by undercover police attempting to arrange to meet a young girl for sexual abuse.

Reporting restrictions were imposed when Dowson first appeared in court after he claimed he would self-harm if identified publicly.

However the ban has now been overturned after a judge declared there was “a strong imperative for criminal justice to work in public.”

Prosecuting counsel Michael McAleer told Dungannon Crown Court that Dowson used a social media platform to engage with what he thought was the father of a female child.

This was in fact a police decoy to whom Dowson disclosed his sexual interest in children, particularly preteens.

He sent to images of a female to the decoy and claimed to have sexually abused a child relative from she was aged 4 to 11 and that he “missed it”

The decoy claimed to have a 10-year-old daughter and Dowson asked to meet her, graphically describing what he wanted to do and enquiring “can I f*** her?”

Dowson then sent a picture of his genitals and requested an image of the child.

This was refused but Dowson continued to state his desires before asking for images of the decoy’s  “youngest daughter”.

Dowson arranged to travel to England to meet the decoy, but PSNI were able to trace his address and arrested him on 6 December 2023.

Two phones were seized containing sexualised internet searches which are too graphic to report, a large number of pornographic websites and a collection of child sexual images.

Referring to pre-sentence reports Judge Brian Sherrard told Dowson: “You claim to have no sexual interest in children, which is clearly wrong.

“You are remorseful but notably your focus is on your own wellbeing.  A psychiatric report states you possess only limited understanding of victim empathy.

“You assert your actions were a fantasy but your intention was fixed and grotesque in the extreme. Your aberrant interest in children is demonstrated by the abusive images, the searches on your phones and the websites visited.

“Your intention was for sex with a child along with other acts of degradation. While the child was fictitious…there was intention to groom the child and multiple acts were envisaged.”

Judge Sherrard sentenced Dowson to two years imprisonment and ordered him to remain on the Sex Offender Register for 10 years.

Defence counsel then applied for the reporting restriction to be made permanent, equating to lifetime anonymity, but local democracy reporter Tanya Fowles, pictured, who had opposed the ban from the start of the case, succesfully challenged it.

She pointed that such orders – of which only nine exist across the entire UK – are reserved for very specific cases including persons under confirmed threat from a third party and others who have been granted a new identity on release from prison.

Ruling in favour of the press challenge, Judge Sherrard decided any clinical risk for Dowson can be managed in custody.

He said: “There is a strong imperative for criminal justice to operate in public and no other facts have been brought to my attention that will dissuade me to make the order that is sought.”

While the ban remained in force for a short while  to establish if the defence intended to appeal, they have since confirmed there would be no further action.