Swindon man sentenced over child abuse images
Matthew Ely given suspended prison sentence and order to unpaid work
A man from Swindon has been sentenced for crimes involving the creation and distribution of child abuse images.
Matthew Ely, 39, of Howse Garden, Rodbourne, received a 28-month prison term, suspended for 30 months, at Swindon Crown Court following his guilty plea in April.
Ely was charged with three counts of making indecent photographs or pseudo-photographs of a child, one count of possessing a prohibited image of a child, and two counts of distributing indecent photographs or pseudo-photographs of a child.
The charges involved over a thousand images on Ely's mobile phone, including both still photographs and videos, collected between November 2021 and February 2025.
Additional Sentencing Measures
Alongside the suspended sentence, Ely is required to participate in a Rehabilitation Activity for up to 35 days and complete 175 hours of unpaid work.
He must also pay £156 in costs and has been given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for 10 years.
Additionally, Ely will be listed on the Sex Offenders Register for a decade.
Statement from Investigator
Beccy Scott, an investigator with the Child Internet Exploitation Team, highlighted the challenging nature of the case due to the deeply distressing images involving very young children.
Scott said, “This was an extremely challenging case, with the images involving very young children being particularly distressing.
"In my four years in this team, they were the most sadistic and degrading I have encountered.
“I want to take this opportunity to reassure the community that none of the illegal images located, we believe, were physically taken by Ely himself.
“The forensic evidence clearly shows that Ely was actively engaging with others to trade child sexual abuse material. He is a dangerous individual, and his sentence reflects both the seriousness of his offending and the risk he poses.
“Online child abuse material is not a victimless crime. Real children all over the world are being harmed, and by people like Matthew Ely engaging in this behaviour it only serves to create a market for this content. Anyone who engages in this content will face the full force of the law.”
More information about reporting child abuse can be found on the Wiltshire Police website.