Matthew Thilges, Child Pornography, Missouri 2023

Child Pornography Charge Lands Jefferson County Man 7 Years in Prison

ST. LOUIS – A Jefferson County man has been sentenced to seven years in prison on a child pornography charge and ordered to pay $57,000 to victims.

Matthew Thilges, 60, pleaded guilty to one count of receipt of child pornography on June 7, 2023. He admitted to possessing images containing child sexual abuse on his cell phone and computer.

The investigation began after Thilges made a series of threatening statements to tech companies, including YouTube, Google, Facebook, and Twitter, his plea agreement says. He also made threats against law enforcement and children in the beginning of October 2020.

A court-authorized search of Thilges' home near House Springs, Missouri later that month found electronic devices, a child-like sex doll, eight assault rifles, one handgun, and ammunition. Investigators found over 10,000 images containing child pornography on Thilges' cell phone and computer, as well as concerning images he had taken of a minor child in his home.

U.S. District Judge Audrey G. Fleissig on Wednesday overruled Thilges' objections to paying restitution to the victims who have been identified in the images and videos that he possessed. Those victims were notified about Thilges' possession of the images and his criminal charge, and 17 victims requested restitution to compensate them for mental health treatment and other medical services, as well as other expenses and losses.

The FBI investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Colleen Lang prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Department of Justice Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-edmo/pr/jefferson-county-man-sentenced-7-years-prison-child-pornography-charge-0