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Arbroath company director reached ‘depths of depravity’ in ‘pizza’ police sting

Repeat offender Matthew Page was caught trying to arrange child abuse and possessing sick material.

Dundee Sheriff Court.
Dundee Sheriff Court

A company director from Angus sent videos of child sex abuse and lurid child abuse fantasies to an undercover police officer.

Matthew Page has been warned he faces a lengthy prison sentence after using code to discuss meeting up to abuse a young girl.

Page believed he was speaking online to a twisted mother who was prepared to meet to let him sexually abuse her daughter.

Dundee Sheriff Court was told he used the secret code word “pizza” to refer to a young child who was available for abusing.

Code word for abuse

Fiscal depute Calum Gordon told the court Page was a director of a takeaway business called The Jaffa Lion Ltd and has a previous conviction for a similar offence.

The prosecutor said: “He was on the social network chat site ‘Fetlife’ within the ‘UKTabooGroup’ stating he was coming to London and would like to try some ‘pizza’, which is thought to be code for a young child.

“It was an undercover police officer who was engaging with him and they moved the chat onto a private encrypted site.”

Page then launched into a lengthy, sickening description of the warped fantasy he wanted to fulfil with the woman and her daughter.

Details of the highly explicit messages were read out in court.

Mr Gordon said Page sent the officer multiple images – 29 videos and 14 images including baby and child rapes.

‘Depths of depravity’

Page, 45, from Arbroath, admitted downloading and distributing child abuse material at his home between October 4 and November 22 2021.

He admitted acting in a threatening or abusive manner from October 4 to November 29 2021 by sending messages to another to discuss sexual abuse of children.

He also admitted failing to appear in court on October 30 2023.

Sheriff Tim Niven-Smith deferred sentence for reports and remanded Page in custody as he warned him to expect a lengthy spell behind bars.

He said: “Custody is inevitable and a significant period of imprisonment is necessary for the protection of the public.

“I am not satisfied the normal licence period will be adequate to protect vulnerable members of the community, particularly young boys and girls.

“You have a predilection for young children.

“Sentence will have regard to the depths of depravity in which you engaged in this particular case.”

Repeat offender

Page was placed on the Sex Offenders Register.

He previously spent 18 months on the Register after being convicted of having child abuse and bestiality images in 2017.

He was caught when his phone was seized by police investigating a driving offence in Dundee.

Australian-born Page was placed on an 18-month community payback order and ordered to complete 270 hours of unpaid work in that case.

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