Man who inappropriately touched teenage girl at Hall Garth Park in Hornsea jailed

Matthew Full, 44, of Lindale Avenue in Hornsea, approached the girl as she sat with friends on a bench in Hall Garth Park.

It was reported the man had sat down next to the girl and proceeded to touch her inappropriately on her thigh. He also asked about her feet and whether or not she painted her toenails.

Full then asked for her phone number and the girl, feeling uncomfortable, gave him the number in an attempt to get him away from her and her friends.

Police managed to swiftly identify Full following house-to-house enquiries and examination of CCTV footage. He was arrested at his home address on suspicion of sexual assault of a child.

Following analysis by Humberside Police’s digital forensics unit, multiple messages between him and the girl were uncovered, as were many pictures of feet.

When questioned by officers, Full refused any knowledge of the incident and when asked whether he touched the teenager’s thigh, he claimed he did not know what a thigh was.

He pleaded guilty to engaging in non-penetrative sexual touching with a girl aged between 13 and 15 years old at an earlier court hearing.

Full was then sentenced to one year and eight months in prison following his appearance at Hull Crown Court on Friday, November 7, 2025. He was also handed a 10-year restraining order and a 10-year sexual harm prevention order.

Detective Constable statement

Detective Constable Birkenhead of Humberside Police’s Protecting Vulnerable People Unit said: “Full knowingly approached three teenagers in school uniform and targeted the teenage girl, making her feel uncomfortable by inappropriately touching her thigh without her consent, before asking her about her feet all to appease his own perverse sexual fetishes.

“She then felt the only way to get rid of him and to stop him from continuing to touch her, was to give him her number in a vain attempt to get him away.

“Following mobile phone analysis of the messages Full sent the girl, it was established that Full was fully aware that she was at school and underage, however that did not deter him from attempting to sexually engage with her.

“I would like to commend the bravery of the girl for coming forward and reporting Full’s behaviour and also thank the two boys she was with for assisting with our enquiries and defending their friend which ultimately enabled officers to stack up significant evidence against him, leading him to deciding to plead guilty for the offence.

“Understandably, the girl was left distressed by the incident, and whilst the result in court will not take away the fear she must have felt at the time, I hope her, her friends and her family are reassured that Full is behind bars and has a significant restraining order and sexual harm prevention order in place to prevent him from committing any more crimes of this nature.

“We would urge anyone who has experienced something similar, has witnessed crimes of this nature or have any concerns whatsoever about any sexual offences you believe have taken place, to please contact us on our non-emergency number 101. Always call 999 in an emergency or if a crime is ongoing.

“We take all reports of sexual offences extremely seriously, and we will always do everything in our power to identify perpetrators and hold individuals like Full accountable for their crimes.”