A former music teacher who once sang for the Pope in Rome has been spared immediate custody for having sexual communication with a child.
Instead, Judge Gordon Kerr imposed a three-year probation order on Nigel McClintock in an effort to deal with issues around his abuse of alcohol.
The 51-year-old, of Albert Road, Carrickfergus, Co Antrim had previously pleaded guilty to a single count of sexual communication with a child who had learning difficulties.
Belfast Crown Court heard that on dates between April 24 and May 1 2022, McClintock was sending messages to the teenage male under the age of 16.
Prosecution lawyer Kate McKay said that on May 7 2022, police received a report from the victim’s mother in relation to Facebook messages her son had received from the defendant.
Among the messages were invitations to come round to McClintock’s house for “hugs and cuddles’'.
When the victim refused to go, he received an obscene reply from the defendant.
”Police went to the victim’s home and were shown the messages which he had received from the defendant,’’ Ms McKay told the court.
”On May 7 2022, the defendant was arrested and said he had no recollection of the conversations. He later stated he recalled parts of it and would have been under the influence of alcohol when he sent the messages.”
“He stated his intention was to act as a father figure to the victim. He accepted that he was aware of the complainant’s age and that the complainant suffered from a complicated disability at the time.”
’During police interviews, the court heard McClintock “accepted he was gay but was not attracted to young boys’'.
He blamed the messages on his “excessive use of alcohol’' and he was “totally humiliated and embarrassed’' when the messages were read out to him.
A former chorister and director of music at St Peter’s Cathedral in west Belfast, McClintock previously featured in a three-part BBC documentary.
The programme, entitled Choirboys, followed his Schola Cantorum choir on a journey to Rome to sing for Pope Benedict XVI.
McClintock stepped down from the role at St Peter’s Cathedral before the offence was committed.
Judge Kerr said McClintock had no previous convictions, “was a man of previous good character and had expressed remorse for his actions’'.
The judge said the defendant had a “long history in the music field as a teacher’' and references handed into court on his behalf showed that he was a “gifted and dedicated musician who had assisted many young people in gaining a love of music and to properly appreciate music’'.
A pre-sentence report compiled by the Probation Service outlined how in the recent past McClintock had become affected by alcohol and showed signs of “alcohol dependency’'.
The court heard McClintock’s offending against had had a “serious impact’' on the teenage male.
In a victim impact statement, it was stated that since the victim was contacted by McClintock, “his behaviour has changed but not for the better’'.
The Probation Service assessed the defendant as posing a medium likelihood of reoffending.
“Sometimes one has to take an overall view of a case. In this case, this is a man of an exemplary previous record who had plenty of contact with children previously but it was never suggested he had behaved in an improper way,” said the judge, adding that he believed, subject to certain protections, it was not a case that warranted immediate custody.
Imposing the probation order, Judge Kerr said this would be reinforced by a “necessary and proportionate Sexual Offences Prevention Order’' for the next five years with the same period on the sex offenders register.