A Sandy Hook resident, Matthew Nelson, aged 52, has been sentenced to 35 years in federal prison for attempted production of child pornography and a felony involving a minor while registered as a sex offender. The sentence was handed down by Chief U.S. District Judge David Bunning on Monday.
Nelson, a convicted sex offender, came under investigation in November 2023 when authorities received information about his online interactions with minor females. He admitted to driving to a minor's home to provide her with vape products, attempting to persuade her to engage in sexual activities. Additionally, Nelson endeavored to encourage the victim to take sexually explicit photographs of herself and share them with him online.
Having a prior conviction in Alaska for third-degree sexual abuse of a minor, Nelson was already on the sex offender registry. Upon completing his prison term, which mandates 85 percent of the sentence be served, Nelson will face 15 years of supervised release under the U.S. Probation Office's oversight.
The sentencing announcement was made by Paul McCaffrey, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Rana Saoud, Special Agent in Charge at Homeland Security Investigations; Sheriff Jamie Reihs of Boyd County; and Sheriff Ray Craft of Elliot County. The collaborative investigation was a joint effort between Homeland Security Investigations, Boyd County Sheriff's Office, and Elliot County Sheriff's Office, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Erin Roth leading the prosecution.
This case forms part of Project Safe Childhood, a Department of Justice-led initiative since 2006 aimed at combating child sexual exploitation and abuse nationwide. The project pools resources from federal, state, and local entities to locate and prosecute those exploiting children via the internet and to identify and rescue victims. Further information is available at www.projectsafechildhood.gov.