Sex Offender Who Abused 2 Minor Girls Allowed To Vacation In Greece Before Sentencing

KEY POINTS

Matthew Thompson was convicted for sexual assault and taking indecent images of a child
The 48-year-old was allowed to go on a pre-planned trip to Greece a day after his conviction
Thompson has to register as a sex offender before leaving and report back to cops on Oct. 28

A convicted sex offender in the U.K. who admitted to abusing two underage girls has been allowed to go on a pre-planned vacation to Greece before his sentencing.

The judge who accepted the man's guilty plea permitted his weeklong trip after praising him for being "honest", reports said.

The 48-year-old convict, Matthew Thompson, pleaded guilty Wednesday to 10 counts, including sexual assault and taking indecent images of a child for assaulting two unidentified minors, ABC 12 reported.

After Thompson entered the guilty plea, his lawyers requested the court to allow him to fly to Kos, a Greek island, for his pre-booked vacation the following day.

The judge who presided over the trial, Jonathan Gibson noted that the sexual assault case was "extremely serious," but permitted Thompson to go on the trip. Gibson said his bail need not be revoked before his sentencing on Nov. 18.

"You've pleaded guilty and you will of course get proper credit for your guilty pleas in due course when you're sentenced. You've been on bail and I'm not going to revoke your bail simply because you have entered honest pleas," Gibson said, as reported by Telegraph & Argus.

"As you know, you are now subject to the sex offender registration provisions and you'll need to report to the police to do that before you go," Gibson said.

Thomspon needs to register as a sex offender before his travel and report back to the police on Oct. 28, a day after he returns from the trip.

In an unrelated incident, an Indian court faced heavy criticism in August after it pardoned 11 men convicted of gang-raping a pregnant woman and murdering seven members of her family, including her 3-year-old daughter. The men were sentenced to life in prison for raping a 21-year-old Muslim woman, Bilkis Bano during communal riots in 2002, but were allowed to walk free. A viral video on social media showed relatives of the convicts giving them sweets and touching their feet as a show of respect.