Matthew Singleton of the Westhoughton area of Bolton, was today (Wednesday 19 April 2023) sentenced at Bolton Crown Court to 22 years in jail for serious sexual offences against two young girls
Singleton was caught after intelligence from the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) led Greater Manchester police officers to his door on 14 May 2021 – in relation to uploading indecent child images to the internet.
Three mobile phones were seized from his property, which underwent examination by the High-Tech Crime Unit. They showed Singleton had generated images of himself carrying out horrific sexual offences against two young girls.
He was arrested and charged and was later found guilty of five rapes against a child of extreme youth and one attempt rape of a child of extreme youth at trial in February 2023.
DC Linzi Allen from Bolton CID said: “Firstly, I would like to thank the families of the young victims and commend them for their strength in supporting this prosecution.
“We are acutely aware that today’s sentencing does in no way make up for the horrors their children suffered but we hope they can draw some comfort from the fact that Singleton is now off the streets.
“Singleton is the worst kind of predator and we are grateful to the prosecution for ensuring that he will serve many years behind bars and will no longer be a threat to children.
“We would encourage anyone who has been a victim of sexual assault, or knows someone who has, to get in touch with GMP. We will listen to you and we will investigate.”
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