Matthew Reiss, 47, of Upper Hanover Township.
A Hilltown Township police officer has been charged with possession of child pornography, following an investigation by the Montgomery County Detective Bureau.
Matthew Reiss, 47, of Upper Hanover Township, was charged with 10 counts of possession of child pornography on Tuesday. Reiss was arraigned by Magisterial District Judge Albert Augustine, who set bail at $75,000 cash.
Reiss is currently at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility in lieu of bail.
According to the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office, 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.
Reiss has since been placed on administrative leave, police said. Both the Hilltown Township Police Department and the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office assisted with the investigation, the release states.
Reiss’ next court appearance is a preliminary hearing scheduled for June 7 at 10:30 a.m. in front of Magisterial District Judge Maureen Coggins. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Nichola Beeson, who is captain of the Family Protection Unit.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using court records and the affidavit of probable cause.
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