A man who had to give police 24 hours’ notice before he has sex with a new partner has lost his legal battle to have the restriction lifted but has been told the terms will be changed.
John O’Neill, 45, went to York Magistrates’ Court to get the Sexual Risk Order (SRO) overturned on Friday.
He was acquitted of rape last year but North Yorkshire Police still successfully argued he should be subject to an SRO.
But O’Neill was told the terms will be changed.
District Judge Adrian Lower said he was satisfied it was necessary to protect O’Neill’s future sexual partners. He will make a new order on September 22.
The court heard that O’Neill had told a psychiatric nurse that he needed women to be “to be scared” for him to sexually aroused.
A doctor noted that his sex life had “become violent” and he had “been seeking out increasingly extreme sexual experiences, biting, choking, cutting, burning”.
After his acquittal for rape, the trial judge said: “Please could you inform the authorities that although this man has been acquitted, it is my judgment that he is a very dangerous individual.”
After the hearing in York, Judge Lower said “I have become increasingly concerned with Mr O’Neill’s evidence during the course of the day.
“I found him to be a vain, manipulative and grandstanding individual who seeks to persuade me that black is in fact white and used the valuable time of professionals to describe sexual fantasies he may or may not have.”
After the ruling, North Yorkshire Police said: “The judge has made it very clear that he believes Mr O’Neill poses a risk of sexual harm, and that it is right to have an order against him in place.
“It is of paramount importance for North Yorkshire Police to protect the public from the risk of sexual harm.
“We will work with the courts to agree suitable prohibitions that will protect the public from the risk Mr O’Neill poses.”
He told the BBC that he has been homeless in the past and he “thought all this was behind me”.
“To have to go back to it, it has been a bit of a shock,” he said.