Privately educated scholar called himself ‘666devil’ and ‘evilmind’ on the dark web
MATTHEW Falder couldn’t have asked for a better start in life.
The son of a company director, he enjoyed a privileged upbringing in the affluent Cheshire town of Knutsford, notable for its McLaren supercar dealership and the 1,000-acre Tatton deer park and hall.
Falder, the eldest of three siblings, attended £12,000-a-year Kings School in Macclesfield, and left for Cambridge armed with A-levels in maths, further maths, biology and chemistry, as well as an AS-level in geology.
It was at Clare College, founded in 1326, that Falder is believed to have met the long-term girlfriend who he would go on to betray in the most horrific fashion. A Masters in natural sciences followed by a PhD kept Falder routed in Cambridge academia until he eventually left last year to take up a research post as a geophysicist and seismic oceanographer at the University of Birmingham.
There, Falder became heavily involved in the university’s Lapworth Museum of Geology, according to his social media posts.
Last night, there was no answer at the Falder family’s £700,000 Victorian villa in Knutsford, where residents in the surrounding gated properties were struggling to comprehend how a ‘lovely’ neighbour could be unmasked as a sexual predator who dubbed himself ‘666devil’ and ‘evilmind’ on the dark web.
Falder’s father, Stephen, 57, a director of the family-run business, sat emotionless in court yesterday as the full extent of his son’s abuse was laid bare.
Mr Falder, with his brother John and other relatives, run Manchester-based HMG Paints, the UK’s largest independent paint manufacturers. The firm was established in 1930, with Mr Falder’s grandfather one of the co-founders.
Outside court, Mr Falder said the revelation his son was a prolific sex abuser had ‘turned our lives upside down’. He added: ‘It came as a complete shock and the family is totally devastated.’