Matthew Bushell 51

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Sex obsessed Matthew Bushell 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.

The prosecutor said his last conviction was for criminal damage offences, adding: "They relate to motor vehicles. The defendant apparently was drunk and went on a bit of a spree, damaging cars."

Mark Phillips, defending, said "remorseful" Bushell had been "very open" in a detailed pre-sentence report.

He said: "The report is very critical of him in many ways, but it addresses the way he perceives right and wrong in many instances.

"It's clear he has a drink problem, he's on the autistic spectrum and he has a low IQ, that is approximately 71.

"He knows what he was doing was wrong. He's a lonely individual, very isolated. His best friend is his father who provides him with a home."

Mr Phillips added: "His father said to me he 'fires from the hip' quite often. That is evident in his pre-sentence report.

"He has not done himself any favours - he has essentially stated to probation he does not wish to cooperate with them."

The lawyer said he had told Bushell he was facing jail, which had "woken him up", and he was now willing to do "whatever he's told, anything to avoid prison".

Judge Stuart Driver, QC, said Bushell's culpability was high because "it was a persistent and deliberate breach" and the harm involved was high because "there was a risk of very serious harm or distress".

He said: "You intended to get women inside your house and the probation officer in the report concludes that you represent a high risk of harm to women."

Noting his "strong mitigation", Judge Driver said: "You have mental health problems that are entrenched, you have been diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome and obsessive compulsive disorder, and you're functioning at a low level of intelligence."

However, the judge said he wasn't willing to suspend the prison sentence, stating: "You represent a risk and a danger to the public."

He jailed Bushell for two years, who shook his head, then gave a thumbs up and waved to a man sitting in the public gallery as he was sent down.