Description
A convicted sex offender sought out the services of an escort and ended up behind bars. Matthew Bushell had only recently been released from prison when he was caught breaching restrictions that are designed to prevent him from committing crimes of a sexual nature.
Having been quickly rumbled by the police, he then confessed to his attempts to cover his tracks as he "thought he could get away with it". Back in jail, he now "understands that he needs to try to stop getting into trouble".
Liverpool Crown Court heard this afternoon, Tuesday, that Bushell is subject to an indefinite sexual harm prevention order as a result of a conviction for sexual assault in 2014. This prevents the 52-year-old from deleting his internet history, amongst a number of other terms restricting his online activities.
Ben Stanley, prosecuting, described how Merseyside Police paid a visit to the defendant's then home on Cobden Road in Southport on June 3 last year, shortly after his release from an earlier spell in jail, in order to ensure his compliance with the order. While Bushell handed over his mobile phone and a tablet computer upon request, it was subsequently discovered that he had wiped the browsing history of both devices earlier the same day.
When questioned on the matter, he claimed that he "didn't want prison staff to see his browsing history while he was in prison". The PC however pointed out that these electronics were not available to him when he was locked up, at which stage he "admitted that he must have deleted it while intoxicated".
Investigations thereafter discovered that Bushell had wiped the internet history from his phone on 356 previous occasions, as well as 125 times from the tablet computer. It was further established that he had searched for terms relating to online sex chats, pornographic websites and escort page Viva Street.
Following his arrest, Bushell confessed under interview that he "was doing stuff he shouldn't have" and had deleted his browsing history as he was "scared and thought he could get away with it". His criminal record shows a total of nine previous convictions for 19 offences, including flouting the terms of the same order in 2016 and 2021.
Bushell has since been recalled on licence in relation to a 16-month sentence he received in July 2024 for seven counts of breaching his SHPO, and is not due to be released until November this year. Desmond Lennon, defending, told the court: "He had material on those devices which he accepts that he should not have had.
"He readily accepts that conduct. He hopes that he would have perhaps moved on from it, but, at the moment, it seems that he is unable to do so. He has had significant issues with alcohol abuse.
"He understands that he does need to try to stop getting himself into trouble in terms of his interests and to stop getting himself in breach of this order. He is in his 50s, and he really does need to move on if he possibly can."
Bushell admitted one count of breaching a sexual harm prevention order. Appearing via video link to HMP Risley wearing a grey t-shirt two days after his birthday, he was jailed for a further eight months.
Sentencing, Recorder Mark Ainsworth said: "This order has been in place, in one form or another, since May 2014. There is no doubt that you were aware of the requirements. It became clear that the search history on these devices had been deleted, which, of course, was a breach of the order.
"You accepted that you were doing stuff that you should not have been doing and deleted your history, and you did that because you were scared of the consequences and thought you could get away with it. The real problem, in this case, is the fact that this is not the first time that you have been before the court for such breaches."
16 Dec 2021 - Liverpool Echo
Groped women and sucked their fingers in his home.
A sex attacker placed adverts for topless women to clean his home.
Matthew Bushell, 48, is banned from advertising for women to contact him as a result of past sex attacks.
The pervert lured two female victims to his home under false pretences then molested them in 2013.
Courts have heard about his "unhealthy obsession" with sex and history of using sex workers and escorts.
But last December he flouted the ban by placing 32 ads for what he called "consensual sexual entertainment".
Bushell was convicted of two sexual assaults in May 2014 after putting adverts on Gumtree for female cleaners.
Explaining the "context" to his latest offence, Simon Duncan, prosecuting, told Liverpool Crown Court one woman met him at Southport train station in June 2013.
Mr Duncan said Bushell took her to his home in Cobden Road, Southport, where "he grabbed her, kissed her and sucked her fingers", so she left and called police.
Officers went to his house the next day and found another woman, there "under the pretence of a job interview".
She didn't make any criminal allegations, but then a second female victim came forward, who had also responded to a Gumtree advert.
She went to Bushell's house that April, but when she arrived, he asked her if she would clean topless for cash.
Mr Duncan said he "put his hand down her pants and touched her breasts and offered her money to stay the night".
Bushell was sentenced to a hospital order and hit with an indefinite Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO).
He was released from hospital in February 2015 and then monitored by Merseyside Police's sex offender unit.
Mr Duncan said "suspicions were building" for officers in October 2020, when they examined his electronic devices and found search terms "of concern", but no evidence of any offences.
However, in February this year, police discovered he had placed ads on the website Viva Street under the username "CoolBoy47" asking women if they wanted "horny fun".
Mr Duncan said: "He was inviting females to call, text or WhatsApp at any time."
He said Bushell placed 32 adverts for women on Viva Street between December 10 and 16 "inviting them to engage in sex work, some advertising for topless cleaning services, and others offered payment for sexual services".
Mr Duncan said: "He has a history of using sex workers and strangely on occasions reporting his dissatisfaction with their services to the police."
He added: "He was interviewed on March 29, 2021. He admitted that he created the Viva Street account with a view to some 'consensual sexual entertainment'."
Bushell admitted placing the adverts and said he received "a fair few responses" but only chatted to them on the phone and then stopped because he feared it would be discovered.
He admitted breaching his SOPO.
Bushell was previously convicted of breaching the order in February 2018, when he was spared jail after placing ads for female house cleaners.
Mr Duncan said he was later convicted of harassment against a female doctor, who had once treated him, by sending her "abusive and insulting messages" and calls.