Matthew Charlesworth

Matthew Charlesworth, a 31-year-old resident of Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, was sentenced at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court on 12 March 2021 for multiple child sex offences. Previously convicted in 2017 and imprisoned for three years for similar offences, Charlesworth was subject to a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) at the time of his latest crimes.

In May 2020, Charlesworth used social media to contact four individuals he believed to be 14-year-old girls, attempting to engage in sexual communication on three separate counts. Unbeknownst to him, these 'girls' were adults who had arranged to meet him on 11 June 2020. Staffordshire Police were alerted to the situation, seized his phone prior to the meeting, and arrested him the following day.

During his police interview, Charlesworth initially denied responsibility for the communications, claiming his phone and social media accounts had been hacked. However, he later admitted to the three counts of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and three counts of breaching his existing SHPO.

The court imposed an extended sentence of 32 months' imprisonment, followed by six years on licence. Charlesworth was also subjected to a new indefinite SHPO, placed on the sex offenders' register for life, and barred from activities involving children and vulnerable adults.

PC Kate Parker from Staffordshire Police's Sex Offender Management Unit described Charlesworth as 'a predatory paedophile' and emphasised the unit's commitment to protecting the public from individuals posing a risk of sexual harm. The case was reported by Moorlands Radio on 12 March 2021.