Latest Offenders Halesowen

Description

A man who carried out a series of online sexual offences against children across the UK has been sent to prison.

Matthew Reilly, from Halesowen, was sentenced to nine years at Wolverhampton Crown Court on Thursday (27 June) after pleading guilty to a total of 34 sex offences in February.

We began an investigation into Reilly – a registered sex offender – in January last year after we discovered an indecent image of a child had been uploaded to online messaging platform Snapchat. The image was traced to an account linked to Reilly. We executed a search warrant at his Halesowen home, arresting the 39-year-old and seizing his electronic devices for analysis.

When interviewed, Reilly admitted to messaging girls on Snapchat and that some of the conversations he had with them had turned sexual. He was conditionally bailed while we continued our enquires, during which time his devices were forensically examined.

We found indecent images of children on his phone along with details of a Snapchat account Reilly had been using to pose as a 15-year-old boy. Further analysis revealed that the account had been sexually communicating with girls aged 11 to 15 years old over a four-month period between October 2021 and January 2022.

Data we extracted also revealed that Reilly would meet some of these victims on an online dating site where he would confirm their age, pay them sexual compliments and tell them that he could get them onto the subscription platform OnlyFans where they could earn money from sexual content.

Reilly additionally sent explicit images to some of the girls and coaxed one of them into performing a sexual act. In total, we identified 40 victims who lived in 27 different force areas within England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. We contacted the relevant police forces and they assisted with safeguarding the children and gathering evidence to support our investigation.

Reilly was further arrested on 29 September 2023 in light of the evidence we uncovered. He was subsequently charged with 52 offences and remanded in custody at a later date.

Reilly pleaded guilty at a hearing in February this year and a previous earlier hearing to 18 counts of sexual communication with a child under 16, one count of causing/inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, and five counts of causing a child under 16 to watch a sexual act.

He also pleaded guilty to eight counts of making an indecent image of a child. These were made up of one count of Category A – the most serious, one for Category B and six counts for Category C.

He also pleaded guilty to two counts of distributing indecent images of a child (Category C).

Description

Released September 2015

A 38-year-old Halesowen man who carried out a string of sickening sex attacks on a schoolgirl has been jailed for 14 years.

Judge Nicholas Webb told William Lee the damage he had done to his young victim was impossible to calculate and said reports indicated he posed a risk to young children.

Sentencing Lee at Wolverhampton Crown Court this morning, the judge told him: "You imposed your will on this girl and you selfishly exploited her for your own gratification."

Lee, of Crimmond Road, had been found guilty by a jury on majority verdicts at the end of his trial on five charges of rape.

He was further convicted on two charges of sexual assault, sexual activity with a child, causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and sexual activity in the presence of a child.

The Judge further ordered Lee to register as a Sex Offender for life and he barred him from ever working with children.

He said it was clear Lee still refused to accept responsibility for his actions but added: "I think you can be managed by a long determinate sentence and the ancillary orders."

Samantha Powis, defending, said Lee was a man of previous good character and she presented 23 references on his behalf to the court.

The Judge told Lee he had committed a number of "grave" offences but added that the references showed there was a different side to his character.