A convicted sex offender from Dover has been jailed for over five years after breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and attempting to evade authorities by fleeing 100 miles from home.
Matthew Downing, 25, was arrested after being found sleeping in a recently purchased car in the Surrey village of Gomshall, days after being declared a missing sex offender by Kent Police.
Downing had previously been issued with a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) in January 2022 following convictions for making indecent images of children. The order severely restricted his internet access, requiring him to notify police of any devices he used and to install monitoring software.
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However, in February 2025, officers from Kent Police’s MOSOVO Targeting Team discovered he had been secretly using a smartphone, laptop, two virtual computers, and an online storage device — all without permission. He also accessed anonymous browsers, the dark web, and social media apps with disappearing messages.
Further investigations revealed Downing had used these platforms to create and share indecent images of children, in breach of both his SHPO and his sex offender notification requirements.
Downing was charged with 13 offences, including 10 SHPO breaches, and later pleaded guilty to all counts. He was sentenced to five years and three months in prison at Canterbury Crown Court on Thursday, 8 May 2025 — a term which includes two years and three months for unrelated offences committed outside Kent.
Police Statement:
Detective Constable Marie-Anne Boulton of Kent Police said:
“Matthew Downing has repeatedly demonstrated that he cannot be trusted to access the internet without being complicit in the sexual abuse of children whose images he views and shares online.
“He thought he could get away with hiding his devices from us by running away to Surrey, but our specialist officers were quickly able to locate him and bring him to justice.”
