October 2026

A paedophile has been jailed for 12 years after sexually assaulting two primary school aged girls over several months.

Matthew North, 67-years-old of Pilgrim Avenue in Immingham was found guilty by a jury of;

– Four counts of assaulting a girl under 13 by touching

– Inciting a female under 13 to engage in sexual activity.

He appeared at Grimsby Crown Court yesterday (Tuesday, 20 October 2026) and has been sentenced to 12 years behind bars with a further 4 years on licence and handed a sexual harm prevention order.

Police Force Control Room received a call on Wednesday, 8 April 2026 by a woman who states her daughter and her friend had been sexually assaulted by a man called ‘John’ over four months whilst trying to earn pocket money through carrying out jobs in the community such as cleaning and car washing.

The name ‘John’ was later found by detectives to be an alias and was identified as Matthew North.

This started in September 2025 and on multiple occasions he had asked the girls to give him oral sex and touch their body whilst doing so.

The girls disclosed they feared North and he would refer to them both as his girlfriend’s whilst trying to put his hand up their tops and trousers.

He would then proceed to threaten to come to the girl’s house and that he knows their address and where they go to school. He would tell them he would ‘make their life hell’.

On one occasion in April 2026, North made one of the girls come into his home and refused to let her leave until she eventually managed to run out the house.

North was arrested at his home address on Thursday, 9 April 2026. When interviewed by detectives he denied all allegations, insisting it was the other way round and the girls came on to him