Nelson sex offender travelled to Ukraine to fight Russia

Blackburn Magistrates' Court heard Aaron McGinty failed to inform the police when he obtained a passport, that he was travelling abroad, and then failed to register with the police when he returned to the UK.

MCGinty, 39, of Marsden Hall Road North, Nelson, pleaded guilty to three charges of failing to comply with registration requirements and breach of a restraining order.

He was committed in custody to Burnley Crown Court to be sentenced.

Graeme Tindall, prosecuting, said the beneficiary of the restraining order was the defendant's ex-partner.

While he was still in Ukraine, she received messages and friend requests from the defendant.

In one message, he said: "It's made my blood thirsty being over here in Ukraine.

"I will come for you and all the members of your family."

John Rusius, mitigating, said McGinty had been released from prison earlier in the year.

"It's fair to say that when he was released, he was an angry man," said Mr Rusius.

He said shortly after McGinty was sentenced to another 35 months in prison in August 2024, he became aware certain evidence had not been disclosed at his trial.

"He still believes that if that evidence had been made available to the court, there would have been a very different outcome," said Mr Rusius.

"When he was released, he didn't want to live, and he decided to take himself out to Ukraine and fight in the war.

"He said that was a traumatic experience."

Mr Rusius said that for the last five days of his time in Ukraine, McGinty had sat in a trench with the body of his friend waiting for a chance to escape.

"He returned to the UK with a changed perspective on life," said Mr Rusius.

"He was no longer the angry young man who sent the text messages."

The court heard McGinty had been recalled on prison licence until September next year.