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Baby Rape and Murder
Christian Matthews, an individual with predatory and wicked tendencies, engaged in the act of sending movies depicting the rape of babies and the murder of individuals to two adolescent females with whom he communicated online. In addition, he transmitted explicit images of himself engaging in sexual activity, attempted to get his victims to share nude photographs of themselves, and instructed one of them to commit suicide.
Christian Matthews, a 23-year-old resident of Bridgend, engaged in the reprehensible act of sending explicit photographs to underage girls he spoke with on various internet platforms for several months. Both victims were 13 years old when the defendant engaged in chats, assuming the identity of a 16-year-old male.
Bigo Live paedophiles
During a sentencing hearing at Cardiff Crown Court on Tuesday, it was revealed that Christian Matthews initiated communication with his initial victim on Bigo Live. This application enables users to broadcast videos to other users. In Christmas 2022, they commenced communication through Snapchat, and the accused complimented her appearance by describing her as “cute” while also requesting explicit images.
The victim disclosed her age to the defendant, yet Christian Matthews persisted in using sexual language and repeatedly requested explicit photographs. Christian Matthews criticised the victim for not sharing images, labelling her as “uninteresting,” and proceeded to send explicit films of himself engaging in sexual activity. Their communication was initiated on the Telegram application, where he proceeded to transmit her graphic photographs of child abuse.
Raping infants in movies and images
Prosecutor Tom Roberts stated that the photographs depicted adults engaging in the act of raping infants. In addition, Christian Matthews transmitted her movies depicting graphic violence, such as murders, automobile accidents, and corpses. According to the court, the victim expressed strong feelings of disgust towards the photographs and explicitly requested Matthews to cease sending them. However, Christian Matthews disregarded the victim’s plea and continued sending the images. Following a period of four months of communication, the victim took action by blocking the defendant and subsequently deleting the Telegram application.
Telegram paedophiles
The second individual initiated communication with Matthews on Snapchat before transitioning to the Telegram application. In addition, he transmitted an image depicting child abuse to her, which greatly distressed her and prompted her to emit a loud cry upon receiving the initial image. Christian Matthews transmitted around 600 photographs depicting child abuse, adult pornography, and movies containing graphic violence.
Kill yourself
Christian Matthews also persistently harassed the second victim for explicit photographs and openly discussed his consumption of child pornography. The perpetrator informed the victim of his intentions to record himself engaging in abusive behaviour towards her and proceeded to send films of himself engaging in a sexual act. In addition, they engaged in direct communication through video chats, participated in collaborative video game sessions, and maliciously instructed the victim to commit suicide.
Christian Matthews, a resident of Glenview, Blackmill, was exposed when the sister of the second victim stumbled over the texts and promptly shared them with their mother, who then reported the incident to the police. Christian Matthews was positively identified, apprehended, and subsequently admitted guilt to five charges of enticing or encouraging a minor to observe a sexual act, four charges of enticing or encouraging a minor to engage in sexual activity, two charges of disseminating explicit images of minors, and two charges of engaging in sexual communication with a minor. The court was informed that he had a prior conviction for possessing indecent and extreme photographs.
Victim Statements
In a victim personal statement read to the court, the first victim said: “I thought he was a 16-year-old boy. We grew close, and I considered him a close friend. He sent me weird and gross videos and asked me for nudes. He was persistent. When I found out he lied to me, and he was older, it was shocking, and I felt like the trust I had was ruined and disappeared. I feel like I can no longer trust anyone. If I am told something, I question whether it’s the truth. I am struggling to trust any man.
“My mental health has suffered, and I have become withdrawn in myself and felt low again and started to self-harm. I am now having counselling. I couldn’t sleep and was struggling to fall asleep; I was worried he would come to the end of my bed if I slept. I still get flashbacks of videos, especially ones involving babies, which were gruesome and disturbing. The incident makes me feel no longer like myself.”
The second victim said: “I thought I was making a friend, but after a while, he started to become weird. I screamed when I saw the videos and felt sick straight away, and I still feel sick now. I repeatedly have nightmares and get flashbacks. I often don’t get a full night’s sleep. It’s had a significant effect on my entire life. My education has suffered massively, and I fell asleep at my desk. I used to be social, but I’ve become withdrawn. I now suffer anxiety, and I self-harm. This incident has changed who I am.”
Solicitor says Matthews is an ok guy
Defence barrister Peter Donnison said his client has a supportive family. He said the defendant has a genetic condition, tuberous sclerosis, which causes developmental delay and intellectual impairment, which contributed to his isolation from friendships and relationships.
Sentencing, Judge Daniel Williams described the defendant’s behaviour as “predatory and deprived”. The judge said Matthews’ social interactions were confined to the internet.
Judge only gives him 3 years
Matthews was only sentenced to three years and nine months imprisonment. He was made subject to sex offender notification requirements indefinitely and to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for 10 years.
Support for victims of sexual offences – where to get help
The Survivors Trust
The Survivors Trust is the largest umbrella agency for specialist rape and sexual abuse services in the UK.
Their services work with victims and survivors of all ages, all genders, of all forms of sexual violence, sexual abuse and sexual exploitation, including support for partners and family members.
If you have been a victim of a sexual offence, you can call the free helpline on 08088 010 818.