Face of Snapchat paedophile who posed as schoolboy and told girls he could 'get them on OnlyFans'

This is the face of a twisted Snapchat paedophile every parent should know as his sickening crimes across the UK are exposed by police. Matthew Reilly was jailed for nine years after admitting a total of 34 sex offences.

The Halesowen predator, who was a registered sex offender, posed as a 15-year-old boy on Snapchat in order to communicate sexually with girls as young as 11. Police identified 40 victims across 27 different force areas within England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as he was caught for his crimes.

The 39-year-old told some of the victims he could "get them onto the subscription platform OnlyFans" where they could earn money from their content, police said. He also sent explicit images to some of the girls and coaxed one into performing a sex act.

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Reilly was branded a "dangerous sexual predator" as he was jailed at Wolverhampton Crown Court on Thursday (June 27). Detective Constable Jack Dobbinson, who worked on the case for West Midlands Police's Online Child Sexual Exploitation Team, said: “Matthew Reilly is a dangerous sexual predator who exploited and abused children online.

"He did so under the guise of a much younger person in order to gain their trust – a trust he betrayed in the most appalling fashion. I commend the victims and their families for their courage and cooperation throughout our investigation. I’d also like to thank our colleagues across other force areas for their assistance. I do hope that by seeing him put away, all of those affected by Reilly’s offences can move on with their lives.”

Police began their investigation into Reilly – a registered sex offender – in January last year after discovering an indecent image of a child had been uploaded to online messaging platform Snapchat. The image was traced to an account linked to Reilly.

After raiding his Halesowen home, he was arrested and police seized 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 enquiries continued, during which time his devices were forensically examined. Police 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.

Extracted data also revealed that Reilly would meet some of these victims on an online dating site - which he used to confirm their age, pay them sexual compliments and suggest they use OnlyFans.

Police explained: "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 September 29, 2022 in light of the evidence uncovered. He was subsequently charged with 52 offences and remanded in custody at a later date.

He pleaded guilty to 34 of those crimes, including:

• 18 counts of sexual communication with a child under 16

• One count of causing/inciting a child to engage in sexual activity

• Five counts of causing a child under 16 to watch a sexual act

• Eight counts of making an indecent image of a child, made up of one count of Category A – the most serious, one for Category B and six counts for Category C.
  

• Two counts of distributing indecent images of a child (Category C)
  

If you have been abused, or think you know someone who is being abused, and you want to know your options and what support and advice is available please go to the West Midlands Police Child Abuse advice and information page.