Police swoop on Manchester Airport as 'disgusting pervert' ignores 'red warning'

Police swoop on Manchester Airport as 'disgusting pervert' ignores 'red warning' Matthew Garrod arranged to have sex with what he thought was a 13-year-old girl at a hotel, and sickeningly suggested that his friends could also abuse her Police swooped at Manchester Airport to arrest a sex offender as he arrived home on a flight from Vietnam. Matthew Garrod exchanged a series of depraved messages with what he believed was a 13-year-old girl while he was overseas. He tried to arrange to have sex with the supposed teenager at a hotel and sickeningly suggested that his friends could also abuse her. However, in reality Garrod was speaking to an undercover police officer who was using a fake profile on Snapchat and messaging app Kik. Garrod, of Church Road in Banks, West Lancashire, was arrested at Manchester Airport on May 9 2024, Liverpool Crown Court heard yesterday. Cops seized his phone and found chats between the now 33-year-old defendant and an officer posing as a 13-year-old girl on the two social media platforms. Garrod first messaged the decoy on September 13 2021 using the account "Open British Man" with a display name of "Matty Alex", saying he was a 28-year-old man from Leeds, Peter Wilson, prosecuting told the hearing. The girl's profile, which stated that she "loved chocolate, pizza and chilling on school holidays", meanwhile contained a year of birth of 2007, pictures of a piglet and a lemur and a "red warning" which read: "Please don't send me dirty Kik sexting," The Liverpool Echo reports. But Garrod went on to "engage her interest in animals" by sending him pictures of his pets before "beginning to speak to her in a sexualised manner", telling her that his penis was "considered really big" before sending an explicit image of himself and "asking her what she would like to do with it". While she told him that she was "going to her nan's house, because she was keeping an eye on her" and her dad was "well strict", he went on to "make arrangements to meet in person and have sex with her" at a hotel. Garrod also told the girl that he wanted to "get her more experienced" and suggested that she could "practice with his friends sometimes too". His internet history subsequently contained searches asking "how do I permanently deactivate my account on Kik?". Under interview, Garrod claimed that he knew he had been speaking to an adult in his messages and was "acting out of fantasy, because he was involved in a group about daddy daughter and little girls". He has no previous convictions. Michael O'Brien, defending, told the court: "Whilst it was a guilty plea on the day of trial, that plea is, in my respectful submission, probably the most significant feature of mitigation for this defendant. He was able to reflect upon his admitted behaviour, reflect upon the position he advanced by way of a defence and the position to be advanced at trial. "He was in Vietnam. It was during lockdown. Seemingly, Vietnam was not the best place to be during lockdown. References show a different side to this defendant. Importantly, the Probation Service feel able to work with Mr Garrod. They accept that he has shown some insight and remorse into his behaviour. "In my respectful submission, he voluntarily desists from the communication. There is a different, more positive side to his character, as outlined in the references before the court. He suffers with his mental health, diagnosed now with autism. "Presently, he still maintains stable employment. He knows that may change. He has been open with the probation officer, less so with his employers. On the face of, it that employment can continue." Garrod admitted attempted sexual communications with a child. Appearing suited in the dock, he was handed a 12-month imprisonment suspended for two years with 200 hours of unpaid work and a rehabilitation activity requirement of up to 25 days. Garrod was also told to pay court costs of £1,630 within 28 days and given a 10-year sexual harm prevention order. He will be required to sign the sex offenders' register for the next decade. Sentencing, Recorder Mark Cooper said: "You engaged, in that 10-day period, in communications with a person who actually was a law enforcement operative. You were fully aware that she was 13 years of age. You deliberately ignored a red warning, stating that she did not want to get involved in dirty sexting, so to speak. "Despite that, you spoke to her in a sexualised way. You asked for photographs of herself and you even attempted to make arrangements to meet in person in order to have sexual intercourse with her, including references to a hotel being booked. You also referred to getting your friends involved. "It is quite apparent to me that this was a disgusting, perverted fantasy. When you were interviewed, you said that you thought you were talking to an adult, acting out a fantasy. It is a very sorry state of affairs, as I think you now appreciate. "You sent a sexual image to the law enforcement officer. You solicited images from the decoy, both on Kik and Snapchat. I do note that they were not sexual images that you requested."