BY SUSAN BRYANT

sbryant@tnonline.com

Lehigh County District Attorney Gavin P. Holihan announced a South Whitehall Township man pleaded guilty to possessing and distributing child sexual abuse material and received a significant state prison sentence.

According to Holihan in a news release, Matthew Schutter, 54, pleaded guilty March 4 to 10 counts each of sexual abuse of children — possession of child pornography, all felonies of the third degree; and 28 counts each of sexual abuse of children — dissemination of child pornography, all felonies of the second degree.

Lehigh County Court of Common Pleas Judge Robert L. Steinberg sentenced Schutter to serve 10 to 50 years in state prison.

The more serious charge of felony of the second degree is applied when it is alleged that the images include “any touching of the sexual or other intimate parts of the person for the purposes of arousing or gratifying sexual desire in any person” or when the child depicted in the image is under the age of 10 or prepubescent.

According to Holihan, the investigation began June 2, 2023, when Google Inc. identified two child sex assault videos on its servers and filed cyber tips with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

The tip included information that the videos were uploaded by an email address associated with Schutter.

Google provided additional details identifying Schutter as the owner of the account.

After his initial arrest, detectives at the Petzold Digital Forensics Laboratory continued their investigation.

Ultimately, they were able to access encrypted files on the tablet device seized from Schutter.

Once unencrypted, the tablet device provided evidence that Schutter not only possessed child sexual abuse material images, but that he had shared them repeatedly with others for the purpose of arousing or gratifying their own sexual desire.

This case was investigated by Detectives Scott McCullough and Robert Toronzi with the Lehigh County District Attorney’s Petzold Digital Forensics Laboratory, Lehigh County Chief County Detective Michael Millan and was prosecuted by Chief Deputy District Attorney Sara A. Moyer and District Attorney Gavin P. Holihan.