EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. - Bradley L. Matthews, 39, of Vandalia, Illinois, entered a plea of guilty to
distribution of child pornography on Nov. 2, 2021, in federal court in East St. Louis,
Illinois.
According to court documents, Matthews came to the attention of law enforcement in February 2019
during an FBI undercover internet investigation of child pornography. During the
investigation, an undercover officer engaged in a conversation with Matthews during which he sent
the undercover officer three videos depicting child pornography.
In an interview with law enforcement on September 5, 2019, Matthews admitted distributing child
pornography. When shown the printout of the conversation with the undercover officer that took
place on February 5, 2019, Matthews identified himself as the person in the profile picture and
admitted that he was the person who had engaged in the conversation with the undercover officer and
distributed the child pornography videos.
Matthews faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years but not more than 20 years
imprisonment, a fine of up to $250,000 and the possibility of a lifetime term of supervised
release.
Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 24, 2022 at 10:30 a.m. in East St. Louis.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May
2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and
abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child
Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and
local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and
to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood,
please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety
education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources."
The case was investigated by FBI Springfield Division. Assistant United States Attorney Angela
Scott is prosecuting the case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
