Child sex attacker allowed to go on holiday to Greece after pleading guilty

Judge says he won’t revoke bail because defendant has been honest

A paedophile who admitted a series of assaults against two young girls has been allowed to go on a Greek island holiday before he is sentenced.

Matthew Thompson, 48, pleaded guilty to assault of a child by penetration, sexual assault of a child, sexual activity with a child and taking indecent photographs of a child on Wednesday.

Judge Jonathan Gibson, who presided over the case at Bradford Crown Court, called the offending “extremely serious” after the defendant accepted 10 charges in total.

But he also agreed that Thompson should be allowed to go on a pre-paid two-week vacation to the Greek island of Kos, for which he will depart on Thursday.

He told the defendant: “You’ve pleaded guilty and you will of course get proper credit for your guilty pleas in due course when you’re sentenced.

“You’ve been on bail and I’m not going to revoke your bail simply because you have entered honest pleas.”

The court heard that the serious abuse involved multiple assaults on two girls, who cannot be named for legal reasons.

However, Gillian Batts, representing Thompson, pleaded with Judge Gibson to allow him to depart for his holiday, from which he was scheduled to return on 27 October.

She suggested the serious nature of the case would make it appropriate for Thompson, of Bentham Drive in Barnsley, to “sign on” at a police station between 12pm and 2pm on 28 October.

Ms Batts said she had advised her client that he would also need to register as a sex offender with the relevant authorities on Wednesday in order to be able to go on holiday.

Completing the 10-minute hearing, Judge Gibson ordered Thompson to report to Barnsley police station on 28 October as part of his bail conditions.

He added: “As you know you are now subject to the sex offender registration provisions and you’ll need to report to the police to do that before you go.”

Thompson’s sentence date has now been fixed for 18 November.

SWNS