A child sex offender who admitted trying to sexually communicate with what he thought were two female children has been granted anonymity after threatening to self-harm if identified.

In the latest of a series of similar cases which have caused widespread concern among journalists, a judge granted a reporting restriction order following a letter from the defendant’s GP.

The County Antrim man, in his 30s, had pleaded guilty to attempting to sexually communicate with what he thought were two female children, but were in fact undercover police acting as decoys.

Last March, a paedophile who admitted 22 offences involving possessing, distributing and making indecent child images was granted anonymity for life on the grounds that he could self-harm if named.

Court reporter Tanya Fowles, who covered both cases, is challenging the latest order, which was granted on an interim basis while expert medical evidence to substantiate his condition was awaited.

Judge Roseanne McCormick remanded the defendant on continuing bail to reside at an address known to police and have no unsupervised contact with anyone under 18 years of age unless approved by social services.

Said Tanya, pictured:  “The order should fall away at the conclusion of proceedings however there are now multiple instances of defence lawyers seeking to have anonymity made permanent, which have largely been rejected on press challenge under open justice principles.

“Nonetheless, given the high number of non-statutory reporting bans granted in sexual offending cases, which are disproportionately higher in Northern Ireland, there are concerns over a culture of court-sanctioned two-tier approaches, with some defendants named while others are not.

“In addition, failing to identify sex-offenders is potentially detrimental to the core principle of deterrence and could lead to higher levels of risk-taking, causing  more victims.

“Sex offenders may feel if caught they can deploy a claim of self-harm if named, ensuring they move silently through the court process with their identities hidden.

“There are also concerns of impact of the hard-fought for Child Protection Disclosure Scheme (Northern Ireland’s enhanced equivalent of Sarah’s Law) with police confirming court sanctions – including anonymity –  must be factored in when deciding if a request for information on a registered sex-offender in the community can be acceded to.

Tanya, who covers courts in Northern Ireland in addition to her work as a BBC local democracy reporter, has previously raised the issue with the Police Service of Northern Ireland, the Office of the Lady Chief Justice and the Attorney General, warning of a “deluge” of anonymity applications from paedophiles.