JAIL FOR ‘DESPICABLE’ PAEDOPHILE, FORMERLY OF KIRTON
A ‘despicable’ paedophile who incited a child to engage in sexual activity has been jailed for more than three-and-a-half years following an international investigation.‘Dangerous predator’ Matthew Finch pleaded guilty to five offences, several involving the same individual, when he appeared before court officials earlier this year.
The 57-year-old was sentenced to prison for 42 months at Lincoln Crown Court on Monday (December 4).
Finch was sentenced to 32 months for inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity and for 10 months for attempting to cause a child to watch sexual acts, which will run consecutively.
He was also sentenced to 12 months for causing a child to watch a sexual act, four months for inciting a child aged 3-15 to engage in sexual activity and one week in prison for possessing category C indecent images of children.
These sentences are to run concurrently.
Finch, formerly of Kirton, was also given a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order.
The investigation was carried out by Lincolnshire Police, working alongside partners across the country and abroad to bring Finch to justice.
Lincolnshire Police emphasized the vulnerability of children online and stated, “This case shows the vulnerability of children to predatory sexual behaviour online – but we won’t tolerate this in Lincolnshire.” They described Finch as a “dangerous offender” and highlighted the teamwork between police units and international partners.
Detective Inspector Leonard from NEROCU also commented: “Finch is a dangerous predator and thanks to an excellent police operation he is facing the consequences of his vile actions.
This case shows our dedicated and specialist team works tirelessly with partners across the country to bring offenders to justice.” The police encouraged victims or anyone with information about such offending to come forward, assuring support and offering resources for help.
