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'Wicked and depraved' Elgin child rapist faces lengthy jail term


By Staff Reporter

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AN ELGIN child rapist who photographed his horrific abuse of a two-year-old girl and shared the images through an app was warned he faced a lengthy jail sentence today.

Sex predator Matthew Sinclair (28), from Elgin, currently in jail in Inverness, committed the abuse at an address in Moray.

He told an unknown contact through the app: "She was crying in pain but it just made me want her more."

Sinclair was caught after he left his mobile phone on to charge and a woman looked at its contents and found the messages on an app.

The woman photographed the pictures and conversation he had with "Anonymous" and later contacted the police.

Factory worker Sinclair admitted raping the two-year-old on August 11 this year and distributing or showing indecent photos on the same date, when he appeared at the High Court in Edinburgh.

A judge told him he had committed " acts of breathtaking wickedness and depravity".

Michael O'Grady QC said: "Only a very significant sentence in custody can begin to reflect the gravity of these crimes."

The High Court in Edinburgh.
The High Court in Edinburgh.

The judge deferred sentence on the first offender for the preparation of a background report and risk assessment and remanded him in prison.

Advocate depute Alex Prentice QC told the court: "The accused raped the child when she was two years old. The accused took indecent photographs of her and distributed these to an unknown person."

The prosecutor said that when the woman looked at Sinclair's phone she came across the Viber app which she did not recognise.

On it she found a series of sexualised messages between Sinclair and the other individual, which began with him asking: "You got any taboos?" His contact mentioned "kid sex" and Sinclair replied: "Same."

During this Sinclair sent naked images of the child to his contact. Cyber-crime experts who examined Sinclair's phone found a conversation between him and a user named "Anonymous" and that four photos of the abuse of the child victim were forwarded to the unidentified individual.

Defence counsel Susan Duff said that when she consulted with Sinclair in September he told her he wanted to plead guilty.

Sinclair was put on the sex offenders' register and was referred to Scottish ministers in terms of protection of vulnerable groups' legislation.


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