Ex-Montco sheriff’s deputy gets 12 years for child porn
United States Attorney William M. McSwain announced that Matthew Benjamin Laver, a former Montgomery County sheriff’s deputy, was sentenced to 12 years in prison and 10 years of supervised release.
Laver, 38, of Souderton, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Michael M. Baylson for multiple child exploitation offenses including distribution, receipt, and possession of child pornography.
Laver pleaded guilty in September 2019 after authorities conducted an investigation that revealed his collection of almost 4,000 images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of children, which he downloaded and distributed to other users on the internet over approximately 10 years.
The investigation also revealed that Laver trafficked in child pornography that depicted children as young as infants being sexually assaulted and raped — and that he did so during the time that he was employed as a Montgomery County Sheriff’s Officer.
Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele initially announced Laver’s arrest last November, along with Bucks County District Attorney Matthew Weintraub, Abington Township Police Chief Patrick Molloy and the Pennsylvania Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force.
The original arrest affidavit was filed by Abington Township Detective Rick Beaghley, a special county detective who investigates Internet crimes against children.
The investigation of Laver began in September 2018 when Bucks County authorities shared information with Montgomery County detectives about child pornography allegedly being downloaded from a computer at Laver’s home.
On July 30 into July 31, investigators using a filesharing program connected to Laver’s computer and downloaded nine files containing child pornography, Beaghley alleged in the original criminal complaint.
All of the files contained videos or images depicting children under 18 engaged in sexual acts or poses, according to the arrest affidavit.
Detectives obtained a warrant to search Laver’s home on Oct. 25, court papers indicate. Numerous electronic devices were seized during the search.
Laver was at home when detectives showed up and he subsequently agreed to speak with investigators.
During the interview, Laver allegedly admitted to installing filing sharing software on his laptop computer and to downloading child pornography from the Internet, according to the arrest affidavit.
“This is an appalling case,” said U.S. Attorney McSwain. “The defendant was a member of a law enforcement organization charged with enforcing the law and protecting the public, but he was actually a child predator. Laver’s crimes are also particularly disturbing due to the very young ages of some of the children depicted in his child pornography ‘collection.’ We stand ready with our federal and local partners to identify and prosecute all those who would prey upon minor children, no matter who they are.”
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce sexual crimes against children. The Department of Justice and U.S. Attorney’s Offices work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce sexual crimes against children.
The case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Eileen Zelek and Michelle Rotella.