A moderator of child sexual abuse sites on the dark web has been jailed for six years.
Matthew Slate, 36, was a ‘global moderator’ on Olympus, a pro-paedophile forum, and held prominent positions on six other child abuse pages across the dark web, the National Crime Agency (NCA) said.
Police found nearly 87,000 indecent images of children on three devices seized from Slate’s house after he was arrested in March last year.
More than 15,200 of these were Category A, the most severe.
Slate used dark web forums to share content and have sexual conversations about the abuse of children.
The NCA said he also financed and co-created a new site designed as an image-hosting tool, another way for users to upload child abuse material.
Officers received a tip that Slate had indecent images and he was arrested the next day before his house was searched and the three devices seized.
One was a computer logged into an online forum where child sexual abuse was being discussed, while another tab showed a site used to upload material on the topic.
Matthew Slate was jailed for six years after moderating dark web sits which shared indecent images of children
Slate pictured leaving Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court in north London in January
At interview Slate gave a prepared statement saying he ‘never intentionally arranged or facilitated the sexual abuse of children’ and claimed he was blackmailed into paying for the image-hosting site.
He gave no evidence to support this.
Slate previously pleaded guilty to five counts of distributing an indecent photograph/pseudo-photograph of a child; two counts of arranging/facilitating the sexual exploitation of a child under 13 years of age; three counts of making indecent photograph/pseudo-photograph of a child; and one count of possessing a prohibited image of a child.
Slate, of Wood Green, north London, was sentenced to six years in prison and a ten-year sexual harm prevention order on Friday.
Robert Lay, NCA senior investigation officer, said: ‘Slate’s depravity led him to become an active member of multiple pro-paedophile forums across the dark web.
‘He encouraged others to view, share and discuss vile crimes against children with no regard for the victims involved.
‘He benefited not just through his own sexual gratification but through earning kudos from other members of these sites.
‘The NCA is dedicated to bringing the perpetrators of child sexual abuse to justice and we will use the full force of our capabilities to uncover those operating in the shadows of the dark web.’
