A 'depraved' dark web paedophile who amassed 87,000 child sex abuse images has been sentenced to six years in prison. Matthew Slate, 36, pleaded guilty to 11 charges at Wood Green Crown Court and was sentenced on May 8. He was also handed a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order.
The National Crime Agency (NCA) was tipped off to Slate's crimes in March 2025 and arrested him the next day. Slate admitted being a 'global moderator' for Olympus, a Dark Web site set up exclusively to share child sex abuse material. Operating under the username Loudechoes between April 2024 and February 2025, his role included enforcing site rules for its users.
From July 2023 until June 2024, Slate acted as a 're-up doctor' on another site called Neverland, where he reuploaded files. He ran these operations from his flat near Alexandra Palace in North London. Slate pleaded guilty to distributing more than 2,000 indecent images, some Category A, the most serious kind. Of the 87,000 images he amassed, over 15,200 were in the highest category of abuse.
The NCA revealed Slate financed and co-created a new image-hosting tool to help users upload abuse material. He claimed he was blackmailed but provided no evidence. He also accepted a charge of possessing 55 prohibited images of children. Before remand, he was subject to strict bail conditions including a ban on deleting browsing history or using software to access the dark web.
Robert Lay, NCA Senior Investigating Officer, said: '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.'
