Matthew Reiss, 47, of Upper Hanover Township.
UPDATE: July 19, 1:51 p.m. - HIlltown Township Police Chief Christopher Engelhart has informed North Penn Now that Officer Matthew Reiss is no longer with the department. Reiss previously submitted his resignation, effective May 31, per Engelhart.
Matthew Reiss, 47, of Upper Hanover Township, was charged on Thursday with 1,695 additional counts of possession of child pornography, after investigators allegedly uncovered 1,437 image files and 258 video files from a hard drive that was located in Reiss’ basement during a search warrant on May 25.
Investigators said the images and videos depicted the sexual abuse of children between infancy and prepubescence, with at least 84 of the files depicting toddlers and infants and at least six of the files depicting sadism and sexual violence towards children.
The new charges are in addition to the first 10 counts of possession of child pornography that were filed against Reiss by the district attorney’s office in May. That complaint was later amended to add another 40 counts of possession of child pornography, meaning Reiss is facing a total of 1,745 counts of possession of child pornography across the pair of arrests.
Following Reiss’ arrest in May, District Judge Albert Augustine set bail at $75,000 cash, which Reiss posted bail the following day, according to court record. For the new set of charges, District Judge Suzan Leonard set bail at $10,000 unsecured, court records show.
All of the initial 50 counts of possession of child pornography were held for trial at Reiss’ preliminary hearing on June 28 in front of District Judge Maureen Coggins. His preliminary hearing for the new charges has been scheduled for Aug. 2 at 1:30 p.m. in front of Judge Coggins.
Reiss, an 18-year veteran of the Hilltown Township Police Department, was placed on unpaid administrative leave following his arrest, pending an internal investigation by the police department. Days later, he submitted his resignation, effective May 31.
“We were angered and shocked at the allegations and are fully cooperating with the investigation,” said Hilltown Police Chief Christopher Engelhart, following Reiss’ arrest in May. “These acts, if true, would be a betrayal of his oath as a police officer, the public trust and the trust of his fellow officers.”
The investigation began earlier this year, when county detectives received a cybertip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children on April 16 regarding two images of child sexual abuse that had been uploaded to a Gmail account. Investigators said that the IP address for the Gmail account was traced to Reiss’ home in Upper Hanover Township, and the phone number associated with the account was known to belong to Reiss.
Investigators served a search warrant on Google for information about the Gmail account. On May 16, Google provided investigators with 660 images from the account, of which 10 showed children under the age of 13 in various stages of undress, in sexual poses and being sexually assaulted, according to the complaint.
Google also provided investigators with chat logs, and in one chat, Reiss noted that he worked for a local government agency. The report states that the investigation found no connections between the child pornography and Reiss’ employment with the Hilltown Township Police Department.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using court records and the affidavit of probable cause.
See also:
Hilltown Police Chief, Bucks DA Issue Statements Following Arrest Of Officer On Child Porn Charges
Hilltown Police Officer Charged With Possession Of Child Pornography
Telford Man Arrested After Offering $300 For Sex With Underage Girl In New Jersey, AG Says
Woman Charged With Third DUI, Child Endangerment In April Crash On Bethlehem Pike
