September 2020 Sex beast set free in Liverpool caught watching kids in swimwear A sex beast who was caught with a sex chamber in his house and who was recently released to Liverpool and ‘rubbed shoulders with former Tory leader David Cameron has now been caught watching videos of little boys and girls in swimwear. Matthew Byrne worked with children as young as 10 in his former role as the boss of Liverpool’s Young Person’s Advisory Service. But he led a depraved double life – finally exposed after he carried out a sex act on a Merseyrail train while photographing young girls. Police swooped on his Wirral home and discovered the 37-year-old had downloaded nearly 9,000 sickening child abuse images. That was just the tip of the iceberg, because the “Jekyll and Hyde” figure had also lured sex workers to his house with promises of easy money. Once inside he ordered them to dress up as young girls, before carrying out twisted attacks in a bedroom he had turned into a secret torture chamber. Byrne, of Tollemache Street, New Brighton, received an indefinite sentence for public protection in April 2010, with a minimum of three and a half years behind bars. Byrne was released from prison in November last year and moved to an address in High Park Street, Toxteth. Now 48, he was subject to an indefinite Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO), which prevented him from talking with any sex worker. It also heavily restricted his use of the internet and included a ban on him accessing websites showing images or material involving children. Liverpool Crown Court heard police attended his address in an unannounced visit on August 5, when they learned he had flouted the order. Officers inspected his laptop and found he had been watching a video advertising children’s beachwear only a day beforehand. The pervert had also viewed a picture of a girl in gym clothing and was asked about his conduct. Katy Appleton, prosecuting, said he replied: “I was testing myself to see if I would be aroused.” Byrne was arrested and analysis of the computer revealed 4,842 searches for YouTube links and videos. He had watched one video of girls and boys aged around seven modelling swimwear 37 times since May. Byrne had viewed another advert, showing girls aged around six in swimwear, 30 times since June. And he watched a video of boys and girls aged five to seven in swimwear 25 times since May. Byrne admitted watching the clips, but told police one had “popped up” when he was looking at other YouTube content. Ms Appleton said: “He said the reason for doing this was to test himself and that he was taught at a sex offenders treatment programme to masturbate and then to look at pictures of children afterwards when he couldn’t aroused.” She added: “He said he was no longer aroused by children and didn’t find them sexually attractive.” Byrne claimed he watched workout videos on YouTube during lockdown and came across a young female teen fitness instructor. He said he was then scared that he was aroused and tried to do something about it. Ms Appleton said Byrne told police he wasn’t aware he had breached the order but accepted he was aware of the conditions. She said: “He was asked had he been aware of the breaches would he have looked at the videos and said ‘God no’.” Byrne, who appeared on a video link from HMP Altcourse, admitted breaching his SOPO. Judge Stuart Driver, QC, told Byrne: “This was more than a minor breach due to the number of times you watched these videos.” He said Byrne was assessed by the Probation Service as posing a high risk to children in the community as he jailed him for eight months. Judge Driver said normally this would mean Byrne being released at the halfway point – four months – but this might not be the case. He added: “Whether you are actually released depends upon the authorities’ view of your current recall on licence.” Byrne was a “leading light” in Liverpool’s charity sector, who had rubbed shoulders with former Tory leader David Cameron. However, when police raided his home, they uncovered a sex chamber featuring a double bed with shackles and manacles tied to each bed post. A leather collar, cane, rope, heavy duty tape, polythene bags, thongs, girls clothing and soiled bedding were all seized. Along with the obscene pictures of children, officers uncovered a collection of violent pornography. When police experts examined his computer, it revealed he had accessed a string of sadistic websites, devoted to the torturing of women. It was from this discovery that police linked Byrne with the attacks on sex workers. Byrne tied up and gagged the helpless women before strangling and repeatedly beating them with a cane. Speaking in 2010, Judge John Phipps said: “Each woman agreed to accompany you back to your house where you subjected them to a sadistic treatment of the most extreme kind. “They were handcuffed and tied so they couldn’t escape. They were violently beaten by a cane, so savagely that blood was sprayed around the walls.” He added: “One woman described what she suffered as torture. That seems to be an apt description to what you did to these women.” The court heard the women Byrne targeted were vulnerable and desperate for money to feed their addiction to drugs. Peter Davies, prosecuting, said: “As such, they were easy prey to the temptation of easy money offered by an apparently articulate, well-mannered and intelligent man who was intent on exploitation. “Each girl was blissfully unaware they were being deceived and had let themselves in for something quite beyond their expectations. “Upon arrival at his home they were each invited to the front bedroom. They were each invited to wear girl’s school uniforms and underwear. “Next they were invited or forced to have their ankles and wrists bound in straps, they were tied to the bedposts of the double bed and it was at this point they were fiercely and violently beaten.” Victim impact statements from the traumatised women told how they suffered from flashbacks and struggled to sleep. They described Byrne, who would cruise Liverpool’s red light areas, going into a “zone” and seeing a darkness in his eyes. One woman said she was left unable to look after her children, one of whom was taken into care, and she took an overdose. Judge Phipps ordered Byrne not be considered for release for a minimum of 42 months, but said: “It could be never.” In fact he served nine years and seven months. Byrne will now remain in prison until a parole board decides it is safe for him to be released back into the community. April 2010 Liverpool charity boss from Wirral Matthew Byrne jailed indefinitely for sadistic sex attack on prostitutes and indecent images of children PERVERTED former children’s charity boss Matthew Byrne was put behind bars indefinitely for four “sadistic” sex attacks on prostitutes. To the outside world, Byrne was a “leading light” of Liverpool as the director of the Young Person’s Advisory Service, which helps children as young as 10. But behind closed doors, the 38-year-old ran a depraved double life. Liverpool crown court heard how the “Jekyll and Hyde” figure lured sex workers to his Wirral home with promises of easy money. But once inside he ordered them to dress up as young girls before carrying out sickening attacks in a bedroom he had turned into a secret torture chamber. His twisted crimes followed the same pattern. He would tie up and gag the helpless women before strangling and repeatedly beating them with a cane while he satisfied himself sexually. In one attack he whipped the woman up to 40 times until her blood sprayed 6ft up his bedroom walls. He then used a plastic bag to suffocate the vice worker until she saw black spots in front of her eyes and believed she was going to die. In another assault, a woman passed out from the pain only to discover Byrne had used a sexual implement to torture her. Jailing Byrne, Judge John Phipps said: “Each woman agreed to accompany you back to your house where you subjected them to a sadistic treatment of the most extreme kind. They were handcuffed and tied so they couldn’t escape. They were violently beaten by a cane, so savagely that blood was sprayed around the walls.” He added: “One woman described what she suffered as torture. That seems to be an apt description to what you did to these women.” Byrne showed no emotion as he was sentenced to an indefinite sentence for public protection. Judge Phipps ordered that Byrne not be considered for release for a minimum of three-and-a-half years, but he told Byrne “it could be never”. Byrne’s perverted double life was finally exposed when he was caught taking pictures of young girls while carrying out a sex act on a Merseyrail train. Following his arrest, police visited his Tollemache Street home where, in a horrifying discovery, they found his sex chamber. Peter Davies, prosecuting, said: “The police found a double bed with shackles and manacles tied to each bed post. A leather collar, a cane, rope, heavy duty tape, polythene bags, thongs, girls clothing and soiled bedding were all seized.” Officers also uncovered nearly 9,000 of obscene pictures of children, as well a collection of violent pornography. When experts assessed his computer it revealed he had accessed a string of sadistic websites with names such as “Women in trouble” and “Silent Scream”, devoted to the torturing of women. It was from this discovery that police linked Byrne with the attacks on the street workers. Mr Davies said: “Each of these girls was vulnerable. They were all desperate for money that they used to feed their addiction to unlawful drugs. As such, they were easy prey to the temptation of easy money offered by an apparently articulate, well-mannered and intelligent man who was intent on exploitation. Each girl was blissfully unaware they were being deceived and had let themselves in for something quite beyond their expectations. “Upon arrival at his home they were each invited to the front bedroom. They were each invited to wear girl’s school uniforms and underwear. Next they were invited or forced to have their ankles and wrists bound in straps there were tied to the bedposts of the double bed and it was this point they were fiercely and violently beaten.” The court was shown a total of 400 pictures capturing the state of Byrne’s secret bedroom. Victim impact statements from the women told how they now suffered from flashbacks, struggled to sleep and were left traumatised. They described Byrne, who would cruise Liverpool’s red light areas to pick up the girls, going into a “zone” and seeing a darkness in his eyes. One women told how she was left unable to care for her children, one of which was taken into care, and had eventually taken an overdose. Byrne closed his eyes as some of the details were read out, but otherwise sat impassively in the dock. He admitted four counts of sexual assault, one of assault by penetration, an offence of outraging public decency and nine counts of making indecent images of children. Alistair Edie, defending, said: “He accepts that when he committed these offences he effectively went into ‘a zone’ as they put it in which he was effectively out of control. “He accepts that during the period with which we are concerned that his drive for sexual gratification overran all other considerations.” Byrne will be on the Sex Offenders’ Register for life and was also subjected to a Sexual Offenders’ Prevention Order.