Former Sheriff deputy sentenced to 12 years for child porn charges

Matthew Laver, a 38-year-old Army veteran, and former Montgomery County Sheriff’s deputy, is going to federal prison for 12 years. 

Inquirer.com reports that on Wednesday, Laver confessed to swapping photos and video of minors online. Some of the children were as young as toddlers. Some of them were sadomasochistic photos.

Laver apologized to his family and those on display in his porn collection during a hearing before U.S. District Judge Michael Baylson.

“It’s a little bit different to be looking out the window of a prison to see a U.S. flag flying, when you’re used to seeing it from the other side,” Laver said during the hearing.

He added, “I’ve lost my career, I’ve lost my personal property and most of all, I’ve lost my integrity.”

Investigators from Montgomery County undercovered Laver’s collection as part of an investigation into the online trade of child pornography over file-sharing services. They found almost 4,000 images of children saved to his computer, external hard drive and his phone. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Rotella told outlets that the collection had been compiled over a decade, making it overlap with Laver’s time in the Sheriff’s office. 

In 2018, deputies arrived at Lever’s house, and he said he inadvertently downloaded them on is devices. He reversed the statement and confessed. 

Rotella said that the fact that he committed these crimes while working for the law was “an abomination.”

Laver’s lawyer, Maranna J. Meehan, a federal public defender, asked the judge to impose a more lenient sentence because of his service to the company. 

Meehan told the court that, “He has tremendous work history and tremendous family support,” 

She added, “I think the court can be confident that he will never reoffend. This [experience] has terrified him and he’s demonstrably remorseful.” 

Rotella said in the filing that Laver was fired from the Sheriff’s office in 2015 because he had a series of an infraction, which included repeated suspensions, poor attendance, and even defaced an image of the state Attorney General. 

Baylson was swayed by letters from the victims in Laver’s porn collection. Although the former deputy did not know any of the victims or produced any media depicting sexual abuse, each considered themselves a victim. 

It was reported that Laver will serve 10 years probation when he is released and will also have to register as a sex offender. He has been in custody since his 2018 arrest. He also had to pay $3,000 to one of the individuals who filed a claim with the government after being in his video collection.