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A pedophile deemed “dangerous” has been sentenced to prison for arranging and financing the sexual exploitation of minors from various countries.
Matthew Bower, a 52-year-old resident of Swanley, Kent, was discovered to have given £6,000 to a female family member of a teenage girl from America, primarily for the purpose of engaging in sexual abuse and receiving images and live-streamed videos.
Chat logs were recovered which showed Bower – using the username ‘evo5_mat’ – instructing the woman what he wanted her to do to the 15-year-old.
In a few of the conversations, he mentions, “I would like to see both of your pictures, so maybe we can wait until tomorrow when she’s free” followed by “I have sent you 80, so expect a lot.”
The NCA officers were able to identify him when the victim, who showed great courage, informed the FBI that her abuse was being captured in photos and sent to a man in the UK in exchange for money.
On 22 August 2017, he was taken into custody for allegedly having inappropriate photos of children and organizing a sexual offense involving a child.
The NCA discovered that the mother had shared 308 images and two videos of herself with the victim through Bower between 2016 and 2017.
The NCA officers discovered additional chat records and online discussions where Bower was actively inciting others to engage in sexual abuse of young children.
Bower instructed them to abuse a child under two years old, and they were able to identify a woman in Romania who was involved in the abuse.
In December 2019, she was found guilty of rape and child abuse and is now serving a prison sentence of over eight years.
Bower had been communicating with several minors through Skype, urging them to share nude photos and engage in sexual acts on camera.
Two females, one 8 years old and the other 15 years old, from the USA were found to have been manipulated by Bower to send inappropriate pictures. Both have now been protected by the US government.
At first, he informed the authorities that he had been hacked. However, in October 2023, he admitted to committing 15 crimes, including encouraging a child to participate in sexual activity and possessing over 1,700 inappropriate images of children, some of which were the most severe category.
Bower was sentenced to 13 years in prison by HHJ Lowe at Croydon Crown Court, who stated that he had no doubt that Bower was a dangerous individual.
Bower admitted to committing the crimes he was charged with between the years of 2008 and 2017.
Jen Cruickshank, the Senior Investigating Officer at the National Crime Agency (NCA), stated that Bower is a highly dangerous person with a disturbing attraction to children. He actively searched for individuals, both adults and children, online to manipulate into sending him material depicting abuse, solely for his own sexual pleasure.
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I want to honor the individuals who bravely came forward to share their experiences of abuse. The starting point for this investigation was the report from the first victim, which ultimately allowed us to identify Bower and protect potential future victims.
The NCA’s mission is to safeguard children and disrupt the most harmful offenders no matter their location. Working together with our global partners is crucial for accomplishing this goal.
Source: independent.co.uk
