Attorney General Jack Conway and his Cybercrimes Unit have announced the indictment and arraignment of a Louisville man after a multistate child pornography investigation.
Gregory Mathis, 43, was previously arrested on July 7 by Attorney General Conway’s cybercrime investigators, after they executed a search warrant at his residences in Louisville. After an extensive investigation and forensic examination of Mathis’ electronic devices, new charges were added upon indictment. On Monday, Mathis was arraigned in Jefferson Circuit Court on the following charges:
1) Four counts of promoting a sexual performance by a minor under 16 years old, Class B felonies with a penalty range of 10-20 years;
2) Three counts of criminal attempt to promote a sexual performance by a minor under 16 years old, Class C felonies with a penalty range of five-10 years;
3) Three counts of prohibited use of an electronic communication system to procure a minor for a sex offense, Class D felonies with a penalty range of one-five years;
4) 26 counts of possession of matter portraying a sexual performance by a minor, Class D felonies with a penalty range of one-five years;
These charges were added after an extensive investigation of Mathis’ mobile devices and Facebook account by the Cybercrimes Unit of the Kentucky Office of Attorney General. Each of these charges stem from alleged chat conversations Mathis had with young girls whom he met online. Mathis is alleged to have created a fake Facebook account with which he would solicit underage girls for nude photos and videos. Mathis would allegedly direct the girls in producing images and videos. Mathis would also chat with young girls in chat rooms using the Kik Messenger app on his mobile phone. Investigators in the Cybercrimes Unit have identified seven of these young girls who had contact with Mathis. They range in age from 10 to 15.. With the assistance of the Stillwater, Oklahoma police; the Orem, Utah police; the New York State Police; the Rochester, New York police; the White Plains, New York police; the Corning, New York police, and the Virginia State Police the young victims and their guardians were contacted and were identified in photos and videos.
The investigation is ongoing in an attempt to identify additional victims.
“I appreciate the hard work of my Cybercrimes Unit in protecting our children in the Commonwealth as well as seeking protection for other victims throughout the country,” General Conway said. “These laws are in place to protect the citizens of Kentucky and to ensure the innocence of childhood is protected from online predators.”
For a photo of Mathis, please visit: https://goo.gl/u1YDJm
Mathis was arraigned on Monday and is scheduled to reappear in Jefferson Circuit Court on the morning of October 15 for a bond hearing. These charges are currently being prosecuted by the Office of Jefferson County Commonwealth’s Attorney Thomas B. Wine.
A charge is merely an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
General Conway’s Cybercrimes Unit
Since its creation in June 2008, Attorney General Conway’s Cybercrimes Unit has launched more than 450 child pornography investigations and seized nearly 740,000 child pornographic images and videos from the Internet. The unit is also a member of the U.S. Dept. of Justice’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
For additional information on General Conway’s efforts to protect Kentuckians from Internet predators, visit the Office of the Attorney General’s “Cybersafety in Kentucky” page athttp://ag.ky.gov/cybersafety/. To report cyber abuse, visit the CyberTipline or call 1-800-843-5678.
