Overview

• On June 6 at Durham Crown Court, 22-year-old Matthew Hindhaugh was sentenced to 16 years in prison after admitting to abducting a teenage girl and intending a sexual offence in February.
• Police found him wearing a chastity belt he claimed curbed his urges and uncovered a ‘rape list’ of social media influencers alongside a sword in his home.
• The quick-thinking victim told Hindhaugh she would remain silent if released, then fled barefoot, leaving a shoe behind and raised the alarm at a neighbour’s house.
• Hindhaugh also pleaded guilty to intentional strangulation, possession of an offensive weapon and making hundreds of indecent images of children dating from 2015 to 2024.
• He was placed on the Sex Offender’s Register for life, issued a restraining order barring contact with the victim and made subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.