A Cambridge graduate and former university academic described as a 'warped and sadistic' paedophile has been sentenced to 32 years in prison for blackmailing dozens of vulnerable victims, many of them teenagers, into performing depraved sexual acts. Matthew Falder, 29, admitted 137 offences against 46 people, including blackmail, voyeurism, making indecent images of children, and encouraging the rape of a child.
Falder, a former post-doctoral researcher in geophysics at the University of Birmingham, committed the crimes over eight years without ever meeting his victims in person. Instead, he used the dark web to coerce and control them, often posing as a female artist to trick them into sending naked images. He then blackmailed them, threatening to distribute the images unless they carried out increasingly degrading acts.
His victims included a young woman who was forced to film herself licking toilet seats and eating dog food, and another who was made to consume his faeces and urine. He also encouraged the rape of a young child. At least three victims attempted suicide after being targeted by Falder, who used the online aliases 'evilmind' and '666devil'.
Judge Philip Parker QC, sentencing at Birmingham Crown Court, described Falder as an 'internet highwayman' whose behaviour was 'cunning, persistent, manipulative and cruel'. He noted that no one who knew Falder in his professional life had any idea of his double life. Falder had been a highly regarded academic, described by a former tutor as 'one of the finest students' with 'international impact' in his field.
The investigation was led by the National Crime Agency (NCA) in collaboration with UK police, GCHQ, US Homeland Security, the Australian Federal Police, and Europol. Up to 100 investigators were needed to track and detain Falder, who had evaded detection for almost four years. NCA senior investigating officer Matt Sutton said he had never encountered an offender whose 'sole motivation was to inflict such profound anguish and pain'.
Falder's case marks the first conviction of a 'hurtcore' paedophile by British police. Hurtcore is a subculture of paedophilia that aims to 'hurt the individual to their very core', according to NCA investigator Matthew Long. The Crown Prosecution Service stated that Falder showed no sympathy or basic humanity towards his victims, even when one told him they were considering suicide.
