Matthew Burren/Alex Smith

Matthew Burren/Alex Smith (aka Rezzed Nova), a violent male who identifies as a trans woman, was convicted at Swindon Magistrates Court in March 2021 of breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order. Burren/Smith, 28, was initially convicted 16 years previously (ie at age 12) of the rape of a five year old boy.

The judge cited the fact that Burren/Smith was “currently undergoing gender reassignment” as a reason to suspend the imposed 26-week prison sentence for two years, reportedly saying “You are very very, very vulnerable. That’s the only reason I am not sending you to prison. If you were not vulnerable, I would probably send you to prison.” This is known as the trans “Get Out Of Jail Free Card” as nebulous vulnerability arguments are made to keep even sex offenders who commit contact sex offences against children are kept out of jail.

A new indefinite SHPO preventing Burren/Smith from approaching children under the age of 16 or allowing a child to enter or stay at their home address, among other conditions, was also put in place.

This was the fifth time Burren/Smith, 28, has been convicted of breaching an SHPO, part of a disturbing and repeated pattern of concealing and lying about possessing electronic devices used to download indecent images of children and contacting children online. Police had visited Burren/Smith’s home unannounced in March 2021 and discovered an undeclared device connected to the router. On discovery, Burren/Smith, picked up a pair of scissors, walked towards the police officer and said “I’m going to kill myself”.

Burren/Smith’s SHPO had been imposed in 2011 after indecent images of children, including sexualised Japanese drawings of children, were found on various electronic devices concealed from the police. The offending occurred while Burren/Smith was under extended licence after release from the custodial sentence for rape. Burren/Smith, who is diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, avoided recall back into custody, instead receiving a two-year community order with supervision and ordered to live at a hostel with 24-hour monitoring and support, and to attend a special school.

In 2015, Burren/Smith was again convicted of possessing prohibited images of children and twice breaching a sexual offence prevention order after having contacted children online.

In 2019 magistrates sentenced Burren/Smith to a two year community order with 30 rehabilitation days after admitting deleting internet browser history and having a number of pornographic websites bookmarked on a PlayStation 4.

At each court appearance Burren/Smith avoided jail after (allegedly) being keen to engage and change, although there appears to be absolutely no evidence that any of the interventions actually prevented further offending.

*Update August 2026*

Burren/Smith, now aged 33 and of Swindon, was further convicted at Swindon Crown Court on 7 August, 2026 after again breaching his Sexual Harm Prevention Order by using a private web browser. He was jailed for three years.

Press coverage noted that since Burren/Smith’s rape conviction, he has since been convicted of possessing indecent images of children, breaching court orders and notification requirements repeatedly between 2006 and 2026. After an outcry, the pronouns used for Burren/Smith – an obvious hulking man with a beard – were changed from she/her to ‘they/them’.

In December 2024, he was convicted at Swindon Crown Court of failing to comply with the notification requirements of the sex offenders register the previous month. This was related a neighbour reporting him to the police for burning mail which was addressed to an alias ‘Rezzed Nova’ he was using – something his SHPO forbids him from doing. He also admitted three breaches of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) – by failing to inform police about three internet accessible devices.

He was jailed for two years and three months for the 2024 offences, so must have started offending again and perpetrated the 2026 breaches soon after being released.

Media reports

Wiltshire 999s https://www.wiltshire999s.co.uk/swindon-trans-offending-jailed-years/  archive

Wiltshire 999s https://www.wiltshire999s.co.uk/swindon-rapist-fake-name-burning/  archive

Wiltshire999s https://www.wiltshire999s.co.uk/transitioning-child-rapist-who-breached-order-spared-jail-over-prison-safety-concerns/ archive

Wiltshire999s https://www.wiltshire999s.co.uk/child-rapist-threatened-to-kill-herself-when-undeclared-device-found-during-visit/ archive

Swindon Advertiser https://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/news/12913036.child-rapist-caught-again-with-prohibited-images-of-children-spared-jail/ archive

Swindon Advertiser https://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/news/19130369.swindon-sex-offender-admits-breaching-court-order/ archive