He had been locked up twice before for sexual offences
Nathan Mulvana, pictured outside Hull Crown Court(Image: Hull Live)
A convicted sex offender who had already twice been locked up in the past was found with nearly 1,000 indecent images of children – some showing girls aged as young as one, Hull Crown Court heard. Nathan Mulvana, 26, of Plane Street, off Anlaby Road, west Hull, but recently in custody on remand, admitted three offences of making indecent images of children between June 15 and August 13 last year.
Stephen Welch, prosecuting, said that Mulvana was a registered sex offender and a sexual harm prevention order was in place. Police arrested him on August 12 last year on suspicion of having illegal images. His mobile phone was examined and 969 indecent images of children were found. There were 255 images of children in the most serious Category A, 186 in Category B and 528 in Category Category C. The images, including videos, featured young girls aged between one and six.
Mulvana made no comment to all questions during police interview. He had convictions for 12 previous offences, including being locked up for two years and four months in November 2018 for sexual assault and exposure.
Mulvana had been given a 10-year sexual harm prevention order. He was given a community order in November 2021 for harassment and failing to comply with his notification requirements as a sex offender.
In 2024, he was given a six-month suspended sentence for attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and attempting to breach a sexual harm prevention order. He was jailed in September last year for one year for breaching a sexual harm prevention order and two breaches of a suspended sentence.
Oliver Shipley, mitigating, said that Mulvana had been released from prison earlier this year and made some progress. There were no concerns about his engagement and he attended appointments.
He had been assessed as posing a high risk of serious harm but he had been exploring options for rehabilitation before being arrested for the latest offences. “There is little that can be said,” said Mr Shipley.
“He recognises that these offences demonstrate a strong interest in children and he realises that he has to take proactive steps. He has explored and recognised that further work is needed.
“He does seem to be making strides in the right direction. He recognises that it’s likely to be a further period in custody.”
Mulvana was jailed for 16 months. He was given an indefinite sexual harm prevention order and he must register as a sex offender indefinitely. He must pay a £187 victims’ surcharge.
Judge Richard Woolfall told Mulvana: “It’s not appropriate to suspend that sentence. There’s a history of poor compliance.”
At the hearing in 2024, the court was told that Mulvana was banned from contacting any girl who was under the age of 16 when he brazenly ignored the court order by repeatedly trying to have sexualised chats with girls on Snapchat. He told one 15-year-old girl that she had an “amazing figure” and he asked another girl of the same age if she had “ever sent nudes” online.
A Snapchat account was seen and, as part of his conversations on the social media network, it was discovered that some of the accounts that police identified involved children aged under 16. The chats seemed to be short but Mulvana tried to engage in sexual conversations with the girls. They did not, however, appear to have engaged with him for long. He asked one of the girls if she had been sexually active but he did not receive a response.
Mulvana had, at the 2024 hearing, been given a six-month suspended prison sentence, 30 days’ rehabilitation and a 33-day sex offenders’ treatment programme. He was given a five-year sexual harm prevention order.
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