A former music teacher who once sang for the Pope in Rome was today spared immediate custody for having sexual communication with a child.
Instead, Judge Gordon Kerr KC 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 boy who had learning difficulties.
Belfast Crown Court heard that on dates between April 24 and May 1, 2022, McClintock was sending messages to the teenager, who was 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.
Ms McKay said the main aggravating factors were the vulnerability of the victim, his age and learning difficulties.
The court heard McClintock had no previous convictions and “was a man of previous good character and had expressed remorse for his actions”.
The court was also told 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”.
A medical report stated that the level of his alcohol intake was such that he was now injuring himself because he is unable to move around without hurting himself, with some of his previous injuries described as “serious”.
The court heard McClintock's offending against him had a “serious impact” on the teenage boy.
In a victim personal 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 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 Judge Kerr:
“In this case, he made extremely bad decisions which caused significant damage to the injured party. The explanation for that was a deterioration in his health due to his alcoholism.”
The judge added that he believed, subject to certain protections, it was not a case that warranted immediate custody.
“The defendant quite clearly needs help and assistance to get back on the right path. The best way to deal with that is by way of a probation order.”
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.
After the defendant consented to the probation order, the judge warned that if he did not fully comply with its terms, he would be brought back to court “and the only option will be a custodial sentence”.
McClintock is a former chorister and director of music at St Peter’s Cathedral in west Belfast.
In 2010, he featured in a three-part BBC documentary, entitled Choirboys, which 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 sex offence was committed in 2022.