A paedophile who served as a 'global moderator' of a dark web forum dedicated to sharing child sexual abuse material has been sentenced to six years in prison. Matthew Slate, 36, operated the site from his London flat, which was created exclusively for the distribution of indecent images of children. He had previously pleaded guilty to 11 criminal charges.
Arrest and Investigation
National Crime Agency (NCA) officers received intelligence in March 2025 indicating that Slate possessed indecent images. Investigators quickly identified his location and arrested him the following day. The court heard that between April 29, 2024, and February 8, 2025, Slate acted as a 'global moderator' under the username Loudechoes for a dark web site called Olympus.
Sentencing and Legal Outcome
On Friday, May 8, Slate was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment and issued a ten-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order. Robert Lay, NCA Senior Investigating Officer, stated: 'Slate’s depravity led him to become an active member of multiple pro-paedophile forums across the dark web. He encouraged others to view, share and discuss vile crimes against children with no regard for the victims involved. He benefitted not just through his own sexual gratification but through earning kudos from other members of these sites.'
Additional Offences
Between July 20, 2023, and June 15, 2024, Slate also served as a 're-up doctor' on another dark web site called Neverland, where child sexual abuse material was shared. He pleaded guilty to distributing more than 2,000 indecent images of children, some of which were category A, the most serious kind, between July 2023 and August 2025. Slate amassed approximately 57,000 illegal images, including over 10,000 in the most severe abuse category. He also accepted a charge of possessing 55 prohibited images of children on March 15, 2025.
Slate pleaded not guilty to two counts of participating in activities of an organised crime group and one count of facilitating the sexual exploitation of children. Prosecutor Corinne Bramwell informed the court that it was not in the 'public interest' to proceed with those charges, and they were allowed to lie on file.
NCA Statement
Robert Lay added: 'The NCA is dedicated to bringing the perpetrators of child sexual abuse to justice and we will use the full force of our capabilities to uncover those operating in the shadows of the dark web.'
