A Grafton, N.D., man was arrested today on 15 counts of possessing child pornography, each count with a top penalty of five years in prison.
Tad Matcha, 24, appeared this afternoon in state district court in Grafton and was jailed after bail of $125,000 was set by Judge Richard Geiger.
Walsh County State's Attorney Barbara Whelan praised the work of the North Dakota Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, headed by the Bureau of Criminal Investigation and Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem.Matcha lives in his parents' home but had images and videos of children engaged in sexual activities stored on computers, one of which was registered to his mother, but with password protection so his parents did not have access to the images, Whelan said in her court complaint.Matcha's home was searched today, after the Internet Protocol (IP) addresses of the computers he used were tracked to the home.Her office "is keenly aware that child pornography is not a 'victimless' crime and that the victimization of innocent children in this manner creates lifelong injury, as pornographic images can never be removed from the Internet," Whelan said in a news release. "Public awareness of this issue is paramount in the fight to stop the demand for child pornography." Matcha appears to have no serious criminal record in the state. He had misdemeanor traffic citations and a minor using alcohol charge years ago, according to state records online.
