A MAN who carried out a series of online sexual offences against children across Britain has been sent to prison.
Matthew Reilly, 39, from Halesowen, was sentenced to nine years at Wolverhampton Crown Court on Thursday after pleading guilty to a total of 34 sex offences in February.
During their investigation, West Midlands Police identified 40 victims who lived in 27 different force areas within England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
"Matthew Reilly is a dangerous sexual predator who exploited and abused children online," said Detective Constable Jack Dobbinson.
"He did so under the guise of a much younger person in order to gain their trust — a trust he betrayed in the most appalling fashion."
Posed as 15-year-old boy
An investigation into registered sex offender Reilly began in January last year after police discovered an indecent image of a child had been uploaded to Snapchat.
After the image was traced to an account linked to Reilly, he was arrested and his electronic devices were seized for analysis.
When interviewed, Reilly admitted to messaging girls on Snapchat and that some of the conversations he had with them had turned sexual.
He was conditionally bailed while police continued their enquires, during which time his devices were forensically examined.
Investigators found indecent images of children on his phone, along with details of a Snapchat account Reilly had been using to pose as a 15-year-old boy.
Further analysis revealed that the account had been sexually communicating with girls aged 11 to 15 over a four-month period between October 2021 and January 2022.
Data extracted also revealed that Reilly would meet some of these victims on an online dating site where he would confirm their age and pay them sexual compliments.
He also told them that he could get them onto the subscription platform OnlyFans, where they could earn money from sexual content.
Reilly additionally sent explicit images to some of the girls and coaxed one of them into performing a sexual act.
After investigators identified 40 victims across Britain, West Midlands Police contacted the relevant police forces, who assisted with safeguarding the children and gathering evidence.
In light of the evidence uncovered, Reilly was further arrested on September 29, 2023, charged with 52 offences and remanded in custody at a later date.
Indecent images
Reilly pleaded guilty at a hearing in February this year and at a previous earlier hearing to 18 counts of sexual communication with a child under 16, one count of causing/inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and five counts of causing a child under 16 to watch a sexual act.
He also pleaded guilty to eight counts of making an indecent image of a child.
These were made up of one count of Category A — the most serious — one for Category B and six counts for Category C.
He also pleaded guilty to two counts of distributing Category C indecent images of a child.
"I commend the victims and their families for their courage and cooperation throughout our investigation," added DC Dobbinson.
"I'd also like to thank our colleagues across other force areas for their assistance.
"I do hope that by seeing him put away, all of those affected by Reilly's offences can move on with their lives."
See More: West Midlands Police
