- Matthew Maddison, 37, was arrested in Park City and accused of possessing child sex abuse material.
- Maddison, a youth mentor, allegedly shared child sexual abuse images since July 2024.
- USA Climbing placed Maddison on unpaid leave.
PARK CITY — A Summit County man and USA Climbing conditioning coach who police say mentors teenagers in Utah has been arrested and accused of possessing child sex abuse material.
Matthew Maddison, 37, was arrested Tuesday for investigation of 10 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor.
"During the investigation, it was determined that Matthew had been viewing and sharing child sex abuse material since as early as July 2024. As part of Matthew's employment, he works directly with youth, in a position of trust, some of whom are the same age as the children in the CSAM files he distributed," a police booking affidavit states. "Matthew's employment requires that he travel throughout the country and internationally as he mentors youth, teenagers and adults."
The Utah Attorney General's Office on Wednesday declined comment when asked to verify Maddison's employment. But USA Climbing issued a statement Wednesday night confirming that Maddison is one of their staff members.
"Earlier today, we were made aware of the arrest of Matthew Maddison, strength and conditioning coach/speed team manager, for alleged online crimes involving minors. While the charges appear to be unrelated to his coaching responsibilities, we are deeply disturbed by the allegations. Upon learning of this information, we immediately placed Mr. Maddison on unpaid administrative leave, pending resolution of this matter," USA Climbing said, while also noting "the safety of our athletes is our highest priority" and that they are cooperating with law enforcement.
By Thursday morning, Maddison's name had been removed from the USA Climbing website.
The investigation began in March when an undisclosed "social media company" reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that an account "uploaded and distributed suspected child sexual abuse material," the affidavit says.
The Utah Internet Crimes Against Children task force executed several warrants and identified Maddison as the owner of the account, according to the affidavit. On Tuesday, agents served a search warrant at his residence.
"In the messages Matthew had with other users on social media, he discussed ... prepubescent children and abusing them," according to the affidavit. "Matthew's electronic devices were examined on scene, and a large amount of CSAM was located. Additionally, Matthew distributed over 30 files of CSAM on the social media site."
Maddison was subsequently booked into the Summit County Jail.
