Sex offender draws 100-year term
BENTONVILLE — A Siloam Springs man was sentenced to 100 years in prison on Thursday after admitting to sex crimes involving at least nine victims.
Matthew Nance, 24, pleaded guilty Thursday to rape; engaging children in sexually explicit conduct to use in visual or print medium; seven counts of sexual extortion; distributing, possessing or viewing matter depicting sexually explicit conduct involving a child; video voyeurism and four counts of computer fraud.
The plea was under an agreement reached by Matt Reid, Nance’s attorney, and Kelsey Six, deputy prosecutor.
Siloam Springs police started investigating in April 2022 after the mother of a 17-year-old girl reported an incident, according to a probable cause affidavit.
The girl told police she was in Walmart when Nance, who worked for a bank, approached her about opening a checking and savings account. Nance set up the account and asked for her cellphone to set up the mobile banking app, according to the affidavit.
The girl said she received a message from someone on Snapchat, and the person threatened to send nude photos of her to her parents, boyfriend and friends if she didn’t do what she was told. The person instructed her to send pictures of her outfit and underwear, and she refused, according to the affidavit.
The girl said a search of the user name on the Snapchat account showed Nance’s name, according to the affidavit.
Police questioned Nance, who denied being involved and claimed someone was using his name. Police obtained a search warrant to get the account information from Snapchat and connected it to Nance, according to the affidavit.
Police questioned Nance again, and he admitted sending the messages to the 17-year-old, the affidavit states.
A woman came forward after Nance’s first arrest and reported to Siloam Springs police that Nance had contacted her on social media and threatened to send photos of her to people she knew, according to the affidavit.
Ten more girls or young women came forward with complaints concerning Nance after his first arrest, according to the affidavit. Police believe Nance has a pattern of obtaining personal information, then using it to extort people, the affidavit states.
A girl told police, after reading a news article about Nance’s first arrest, that he had been using nude photos of her for two years to extort her, according to court documents.
Another girl told police Nance had also helped her set up the bank’s mobile app on her phone, and someone started using a photo that was on her phone to try to get more images of her, according to court documents.
One girl told police Nance raped her and tried to extort her for nude photos, according to the affidavit. She said Nance took a video of himself raping her in 2018 when she was intoxicated and passed out, according to court documents.
Police interviewed a person who reported that the girl told her about Nance raping her, but she did not come forward because Nance had videos of her using drugs and threatened to release the videos on social media, according to the affidavit. She said Nance knew how to control people and would threaten to release damaging videos if anyone went against him, according to court documents.
A girl told police on July 6 she now had the courage to come forward since more girls had complained about Nance, according to court documents. She told police Nance raped her at his apartment when she was 16 years old, according to the affidavit.
According to the affidavit, she told police she received a message on social media threatening her and telling her to do whatever the person asked. The last message she received was claiming to know who raped her, and she suspected the messages were from Nance because she said he was the one who raped her, according to court documents.
Six said Nance used a computer to extort the victims and he had coerced a child to engage in sex to produce a video depicting sexually explicit conduct.
She said Nance had threatened some of the victims with distributing sexually explicit images of them.
Nance knowingly possessed an image of a child engaged in sexually explicit conduct and forced one of the victims into a sexual act, Six said.
Benton County Circuit Judge Brad Karren asked Nance if Six’s assertions were true.
“Yes, your honor,” Nance replied.
Six read victim impact statements from three of the victims. Each one described the devastating impact Nance’s crimes have had on their lives.
“He’s made me afraid,” one of the victims said in her statement. “I have to remind myself everyone is not like Matthew Nance.”
Another victim said Nance turned her life into a nightmare and she cannot forgive him.
“I wish I could have that time erased from my memory,” she said in her statement. “Actions have consequences, and I hope you take plenty of time to reflect on your actions and face your consequences.”
Karren accepted the plea agreement and Nance’s guilty plea.
The judge followed the terms of the plea agreement and sentenced Nance to 100 years in the Arkansas Department of Corrections.
Nance will be required to register as a sex offender and will remain on the list for the rest of his life. He must complete the prison’s sex offender treatment program.
The judge ordered Nance not to have any contact with his victims or have unsupervised contact with any minors.
Nance declined an opportunity to speak, but his attorney read a short statement on his behalf.
“I understand the pain and trauma I’ve caused others, and I’m sorry for my actions,” Reid read.
Benton County Prosecuting Attorney Joshua Robinson said Nance chronically and systematically targeted and preyed upon young, vulnerable women and girls.
“Nance singled out and isolated his victims and relentlessly exploited their vulnerabilities,” Robinson said. “I hope that his sentence of 100 years in the Arkansas Department of Corrections provides closure and a sense of justice to his victims. Additionally, this should send the message that this predatory behavior will not be tolerated in this community.”
Nance’s legal troubles are not over. He also has two cases involving similar charges in Washington County.