A serial paedophile who sexually abused and exploited young boys he met online has been jailed.

Matthew Lockwood, from Chatham, instigated contact via the Kik and Grindr apps before offering cash and gifts as incentives for meeting up to indulge his deviant desires.

Canterbury Crown Court heard the 47-year-old also shared explicit images of his victims, asked one for a picture in his school uniform, and offered the boys for sex to others he communicated with over the internet.

Aware of his wrongdoing, he told one boy he "needed to be careful" when taking him to his flat so as to not alert neighbours, and even went on to boast in online chats about the perverted sexual acts he performed, claiming to have had sex with a child as young as 12.

One boy, aged 14 when he first met Lockwood, later told police how he felt his abuser had "a hold" over him.

In his victim impact statement read at Lockwood's sentencing hearing today (January 12) he wrote: "I felt trapped and I couldn't find any way out. I felt I couldn't tell anyone what was happening. He had control over me.

"What my abuser was doing was always on my mind. I felt consumed by this. It got to a point when he would demand to see me and when I was with my abuser at his flat he would tell me what to do.

"He would belittle me and call me a s**t. What he did to me made me feel very conscious about my body. He destroyed my trust in people. To this day what happened to me still affects my relationships."

A second victim told police that at times he blamed himself for downloading the Kik app, and that having to detail what he had suffered at Lockwood's hands for court proceedings meant he had had to "relive what I thought was forgotten".

"Every time his name is mentioned I get this sick churning in my stomach. It's so draining," he wrote.

"I get severe anxiety speaking about it all the time. I just cannot wait until he is locked up and it can be a relief to everyone."

Lockwood, of Edgewater, St Mary's Island, pleaded guilty to six offences of distributing indecent images of a child, five of possessing indecent images, three of sexual activity with a child, three of causing sexual exploitation of a child, two of sexual communication with a child, two of paying for sexual services of a child, and causing a child to watch a sexual act.

A total of 1,840 child abuse images, covering all three levels of seriousness, were found in his possession.

Lockwood, who appeared in court via prison video link and sat with his head bowed throughout much of the hearing, also admitted possessing a class B drug, namely ketamine.

All the offences were committed between February 2016 and his arrest in February 2023.

Prosecutor Puneet Grewal told the court Lockwood made contact with his first victim via Kik Valentine's Day 2016, He introduced himself as being 38 years old and bisexual, and asked the boy whether he was "willing to meet up with guys".

The conversations soon became sexually explicit and Lockwood suggested meeting up, telling the boy he would "need to be a bit careful bringing you in and out of the flat" as he did not want the neighbours to see, said the prosecutor.

He also offered the boy money for sexual services, saying he would drive to pick him up and take him to where his flat would give them "more privacy", the court was told.

They then discussed numerous sexual acts, with Matthew Lockwood making a crude remark about the size of his genitalia, and arranged to meet.

Ms Grewal said Lockwood later spoke about the youngster in an online conversation with another individual, saying he had "found a boy who would be up for being f***ed" and that he would "try and sort it".

He also shared an indecent image of the same boy and when asked if he had had sex with him, his response was a winking emoji and another crude comment.

Referring to other perverse chats Lockwood had online, Ms Grewal told the court: "He said the youngest boy he had had sex with was 12 years old. He described him as 'a little kid'."

The court heard Lockwood gave gifts he himself described as being of "relatively modest value" to one victim in return for sexual services, and offered to pay another he communicated with via Grindr £100 for their first meet up, with payments of £50 thereafter.

"He also invited that boy into a group chat with himself and someone referred to as 'Joe'. He told Joe the boy was 16," said the prosecutor.

"The purpose of that group was for Matthew Lockwood to arrange a threesome."

Lockwood, said by his barrister to have shown genuine remorse, was jailed for 13 years.

On his release he will be subject to a sexual harm prevention order for 15 years, as well as indefinite sex offender notification requirements.

He is clearly a dangerous and predatory offender...

Investigating officer Detective Sergeant Terry Hanlon, of Medway’s Missing and Child Exploitation Team said: “Lockwood targeted and groomed young vulnerable children through social media before persuading them to meet with him.

“He is clearly a dangerous and predatory offender and the lengthy sentence reflects the gravity and depravity of his actions.

“I wish to commend the courage of all these victims in supporting this investigation and ensuring Lockwood has been held to account for his appalling actions.

“If anyone has been a victim of any sexual offence it is never too late to report this to the police. We will always treat any information with the upmost confidence and sensitivity.

He added: “This case also acts as a reminder to parents of children who have mobile phones and tablets to speak to them and help them understand the precautions they should take when using the internet, or the many instant messaging services that are available.

“Children should only communicate with people that they know personally and report any suspicions or inappropriate advances from strangers to their parents, schools, or the police.”