Matthew Laver, 37, of Souderton.
A former Montgomery County Deputy Sheriff has been sentenced to federal prison after pleading guilty to possessing and distributing thousands of images of child pornography.
Matthew Laver, 37, of Souderton, has been sentenced to 12 years in federal prison followed by 10 years of supervised release, according to The Reporter. The sentence, issued by United States District Court Judge Michael M. Baylson, comes after Laver plead guilty in September 2019 to multiple counts of possession and distribution of child pornography.
Laver was initially facing dozens of charges that were filed by the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office, but those charges were later dismissed following Laver being federally indicted in April 2019. The case was then transferred to federal prosecutors, due to Laver’s crimes involving materials “that had been mailed and shipped and transported in and affecting interstate and foreign commerce,” according to prior reports.
According to the criminal complaint, the investigation began when the Bucks County Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force shared information with the Montgomery County ICAC in September 2018, showing that a person in Souderton was sharing child pornography files on a file-sharing network. Montgomery County Detectives were able to directly connect to the computer through the file-sharing network, which allowed them to both download the files and trace the computer to Laver’s residence, the release states.
The release states that a search warrant for Laver’s residence was executed on Oct. 25, which allegedly lead to the discovery of more than 20 images of children in various stages of undress, “with numerous images showing the minors engaged in indecent contact with other children and adults.”
Further investigation uncovered a total of nearly 4,000 images and videos of child pornography, with some depicting the sexual assault and rape of infants, according to reports.
Laver was employed as a Montgomery County Sheriff’s Deputy roughly 11 years ago, but was no longer employed by the department at the time of his arrest, according to reports.
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