Prison ordered for West Valley man who had child porn, childlike sex dolls

SALT LAKE CITY — A West Valley man who pleaded guilty to sexual exploitation of a minor after police said they discovered child pornography and childlike sex dolls at his home was sentenced Thursday to prison.

Matthew Christopher Lowe, 46, was charged in January with 20 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, a second-degree felony. He pleaded guilty to six of those charges as part of a plea deal and the remaining 14 were dismissed.

Third District Judge Paul B. Parker sentenced Lowe to a term of one to 15 years in prison for each of the six counts, but ordered them to be served concurrently.

During Thursday's sentencing, Lowe said he understands that what he did was wrong and he blames no one but himself, adding that he was "not in (his) right mind" when the crimes occurred.

The investigation against Lowe began in February 2021, when an undisclosed social media company reported that suspected child pornography was being uploaded and distributed on its platform.

Members of the Internet Crimes Against Children task force served a search warrant on Lowe's West Valley residence. In addition to finding child pornography files on social media, investigators found multiple CDs in Lowe's bedroom that contained suspected child porn based on their titles, court documents state.

"Investigators on scene also seized eight sex dolls from the residence, all of which appeared to be childlike and dressed in children's clothing. For example, two of the sex dolls were dressed in Disney's 'Frozen' movie nightgown," a police affidavit states.

Prosecutor Cynthia Poulson expressed concern Thursday about the child pornography and the child-sized sex dolls. She said Lowe's prison sentence "protects children in the community."

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