BODMIN SEX OFFENDER GETS 21 MONTHS FOR BREACHING COURT ORDERS AND DARK WEB APPS
A pervert with a long history of downloading and creating indecent images of children used a special app to delete his browsing search history days after being banned by the courts for doing exactly that.Philip John Matthews had a sexual harm prevention order imposed on him by magistrates' courts on October 24 to restrict his internet access.
Three days later, police discovered that he had installed the DuckDuckGo app, known for its ease of erasing browsing history, and also the Tor browser, used to access the dark web.
Matthews, aged 50, was arrested and charged with breaching a sexual harm prevention order.
He pleaded guilty in magistrates' court and was sentenced at Truro Crown Court on November 27 to 21 months in prison.
During police interviews, Matthews admitted everything, claiming he had "made an error of judgment." He has been before the courts multiple times — in 2015, 2016, and 2024 — for making indecent images of children and has previously breached sexual harm prevention orders, leading to his last breach and recall to prison.
His Honour Judge Simon Carr highlighted Matthews' entrenched sexual interest in children, noting that he reoffended shortly after release from prison in August 2025.
The court heard Matthews downloaded DuckDuckGo as a 'safer' browser to stay within the law and attempted to prevent access to pornography via apps.
Matthews also has autism and dyslexia, and has faced personal tragedies including the loss of his mother in 2024, and difficulty returning to his property due to community disapproval.
