PSNI data breach: Man in court on terrorism-related charges
- Published
Christopher O'Kane appeared before Coleraine Magistrates' Court sitting in Ballymena on Monday
A 50-year-old man has appeared in court charged with terrorism offences linked to the major data breach by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI).
It is alleged Christopher Paul O'Kane had a spreadsheet containing the names on a phone found at his home.
The phone allegedly had screenshots of sections with officers names, including one who was previously targeted in a dissident bomb attack.
Mr O'Kane of Main Street, Feeny, was remanded in custody for four weeks.
He was arrested by police at his County Londonderry house last Friday.
The data breach happened two weeks ago, when police released the names of more than 10,000 staff and officers by mistake, under a Freedom of Information (FoI) request.
Mr O'Kane is charged with two offences:
Possessing two mobile phones for the purposes of preparing terrorist acts
Having information likely to be useful to terrorists - namely the spreadsheet of names
Coleraine Magistrates' Court, sitting in Ballymena, was told the two phones were found in Mr O'Kane's bedroom.
On one of the phones, the spreadsheet had allegedly been downloaded to a file.
It is also claimed there were images of certain sections of groups of officers, including those at a senior level, and two individuals.
One had detained Mr O'Kane for a stop-and-search, while the second was the victim of an attempted murder in a bomb attack claimed by the New IRA.
It is also alleged a phone contained images of DIY bomb detonators.
Spreadsheet not forwarded
A police detective told the court there is also evidence the accused had registered for a website used for searching for addresses using surnames.
A defence solicitor said Mr O'Kane had received the file on WhatsApp and he had deleted it.
He said he was not in possession of the spreadsheet with his knowledge, and he was unaware it had been downloaded to the phone.
The solicitor stated: "There is no evidence it had been used for any nefarious purposes or with any intent."
In response to questions from the solicitor, the police detective said there is no evidence at this point the spreadsheet had been forwarded by Mr O'Kane.
He could also not say how long it had been on one of the phones.
Mr O'Kane did not speak during the hearing, nor did he stand when the charges were read out.
He sat in the dock handcuffed in between two prison officers.