MAN SENTENCED FOR MAKING AND DISTRIBUTING CHILD ABUSE IMAGES
A resident of Swindon has been sentenced for producing and distributing extremely disturbing and degrading images of children, described by police as the worst they have ever encountered.Matthew Ely, aged 39 and living on Howse Garden in Rodbourne, was sentenced to 28 months in prison, suspended for 30 months, following a guilty plea in April during proceedings at Swindon Crown Court on May 21.
He was charged with three counts of making indecent images or pseudo-images of a child, one count of possessing a prohibited child image, and two counts of distributing such images.
The offensive material, consisting of over a thousand images and videos, dates from November 2021 to February 2025 and was found stored on Ely’s mobile phone.
The court also ordered Ely to take part in a Rehabilitation Activity for up to 35 days, to complete 175 hours of unpaid work, and to pay costs of £156.
He is further subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for a decade and will be registered as a sex offender for ten years as part of the penalty.
