Armley man given extended jail sentence for sexual abuse of children
Matthew Bradshaw was sentence to 25 years in prison for his offences
A man from Armley has been given an extended prison sentence after admitting to child sexual offences.
Matthew Bradshaw, of Heights Drive in the town, was sentenced to 25 years in jail at Leeds Crown Court on Thursday (July 11th).
Bradshaw, aged 30, has been under investigation from West Yorkshire Police since 2021 after he was convicted of sexually assaulting a two-year-old girl.
Following his conviction, Bradshaw was put on the Sex Offenders' Register and given a community order for the offence that allowed police to search his device3s.
Once officers were given access to his devices, it was discovered he had been taking and keeping indecent images of children.
These also confirmed that the suspect had abused two other victims - as well as continuing his sexual offences against the initial two-year-old.
Bradshaw was arrested and charged on three counts of rape of a girl under the age of 18, sexual assault of a child under 13, four counts of making indecent images of children, four counts of possession of indecent of children, two counts of voyeurism, one count of distributing an indecent image of a child, and one count of possession of extreme pornographic images.
Speaking following the verdict, Detective Sergeant Clair Salkend, from the Leeds District Child Safeguarding Unit, said that justice had served.
"These were absolutely horrific offences committed against young children," she said.
"Bradshaw was already on the Sex Offenders’ Register and these offences have come to light due to the checks that were made on his online activities.
"Our enquiries mean we have been able to identify and safeguard his victims, and also support their wider families at what was a truly unimaginably difficult time for them.
"The sentence that Bradshaw has been given has ensured that a dangerous sexual predator is now behind bars.”