A married man who drove to Hatfield’s Galleria shopping centre thinking he was going to meet a young boy for sex, got a shock when he found police officers were waiting for him instead.
Russell Matthews thought he’d been in contact with a 13-year-old boy he’d met on the gay dating site, Grindr.
In fact ‘Ben’ turned out to be an undercover police officer who had been posing online as a schoolboy.
Matthews, 35, from Hemel Hempstead was arrested, and when his phone was seized it was subsequently discovered he had been trying to meet a 15-year-old boy for the purpose of having sex with him
On Thursday, December 10, 2020, Matthews of Upper Barn, Hemel Hempstead was jailed for a total of four years after a judge told him: “These are very disturbing offences.”
Prosecutor Sarah Knight told St Albans Crown Court it was on the afternoon of October 23, 2019, that Matthew drove to the Gallaria in Hatfield thinking he was meeting a boy he’d met in the gay online dating site, called Ben.
The court was told how in the days leading up to his drive to the shopping centre, he’d been in regular online contact with the boy with highly sexualised conversations.
Despite understanding ‘Ben’ to be 13, Matthews had sent him pictures of an erect adult penis and had made it plain he wanted to meet up for sex.
He even sent Ben a list of sex acts he wanted him to perform.
When the meeting was arranged the undercover officer notified colleagues who were waiting outside the Gallaria when the defendant turned up in his red Skoda.
Miss Knight said at Hatfield police station while waiting to be booked in Matthews was heard to say: “What do I get to tell my wife, I’ve ruined my life.”
The court then heard that found on his phone were scores of illegal child sex abuse images that he’d downloaded including some of the very worst material to be found online.
But there was more, said Miss knight when police found evidence on the phone that Matthews had also been communicating online with a 15-year-old boy.
The youngster was traced by detectives and told them how Matthews had sent him sexualised photos, requesting him in return to send him back pictures of his penis.
The boy told the police that so relentless was Matthews with his request that he would find himself being contacted by him when he was at school.
He said it got so bad that in the end he had blocked the defendant’s calls.
In court today Matthew pleaded guilty to attempting to meet a child following sexual grooming, attempting sexual communication with a child, attempting to cause a child to carry out a sexual act, causing a child to to engage in sexual activity, causing a child to watch a sexual act and three charges of making indecent photos of a child.
Adam Budworth defending said Matthews had taken steps to address his offending behaviour by paying for counselling sessions.
“He says he just cannot forgive himself,” said Mr Budworth who told the court how Matthews had himself suffered abuse as a young boy.
Passing sentence Judge Kay told Budworth that he would have known “fully well” that what he was doing was wrong.
Judge Kay said the defendant’s family and friends had been left shocked when they found out what he’d done and didn’t recognise that person as the one they knew.
The judge said as is so often in cases like this, what he’d been up to was done in secret and he would have appeared normal to those who knew him.
He was jailed for four years and his name will go on the sex offenders register for life.
in addition he was made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order and told the the devices on which he’d stored indecent material will be destroyed.
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