Jailed: 'Dangerous sexual predator' from Halesowen who exploited and abused children online
A man who carried out a series of online sexual offences against children across the UK has been sent to prison.
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Matthew Reilly, from Spiral Close, Halesowen, was sentenced to nine years at Wolverhampton Crown Court on Thursday after pleading guilty to a total of 34 sex offences in February.
West Midlands Police began an investigation into Reilly, a registered sex offender, in January last year after officers discovered an indecent image of a child had been uploaded to online messaging platform Snapchat.
The image was traced to an account linked to Reilly and a search warrant was executed at his Halesowen home, with officers arresting the 39-year-old and seizing 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.
A spokesman for West Midlands Police said: "We 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.
