A 26-year-old man and his teen half-sister who was reportedly infatuated with him, were sentenced to prison on Thursday for taking pictures of themselves engaged in “horrible” sexual acts with children.
Matthew Thatcher, 26, and his half-sister Emily Thomson, 18, of Neath, England, were convicted of targeting three children, luring them in, and sexually assaulting them while taking photos of the abuse. A third person, Mandy Wright, 28, of Cardiff, England, also targeted the children and viewed the graphic photos. She was convicted of five offenses, including possession of images depicting child sex abuse.
‘Today, Matthew Thatcher, Emily Thomson, and Mandy Wright have been given long and deserved sentences for what are abhorrent crimes which have had a devastating impact upon their victims,” DCI Karen Thomas, from South Wales Police, said, according to Wales Online.
“Absorbing the detail and the nature of the abuse committed by these individuals has been harrowing for even the most experienced professionals involved in the investigation.”
According to medical records, one of the children showed “chronic signs of sexual abuse.” The children were hurt so badly “like they could not breathe,” court records read.
Authorities found hundreds of images after Thomson and Thatcher took photos of themselves engaged in sexual abuse with the children, including images of rape and torture. The brother and sister would then exchange the photos with each other and write graphic messages about each picture.
Thomson’s lawyers said that she was “blinded with her infatuation” and did whatever Thatcher asked. They also indicated that Thomson didn’t look at Thatcher like a brother, since he wasn’t her “full” brother.
The pair got busted when Thatcher began chatting in a graphic manner to what he thought was a 14-year-old child. He arranged to meet up, but once Thatcher arrived at the location, the real person he was chatted with, an adult woman, called the police.
Recorder Rees sentenced Thatcher to serve 26 years in prison, Thomson to serve 12 years, and Wright to serve seven years.
[Feature Photo: Police Handout]
