January 2023

Anger over decision to let Yorkshire child sex offender jet off on Kos holiday before being jailed

A Yorkshire MP has blasted the government for “failures” which allowed a child rapist to go abroad on holiday before sentencing.

Barnsley man, Matthew Thompson, 48, pleaded guilty to assaulting a child under 13 by penetration, sexual assault of a child, sexual activity with a child and taking indecent photographs of a child in November.

Despite his “serious offending”, he was allowed to jet off on a two-week holiday to Kos before receiving his jail term.

Thompson, who has to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life, was jailed for a total of 15 years and 10 months, and the judge added an extra year of prison licence onto his sentence as he was classed as “an offender of particular concern”.