Youth 'mentor' in Utah arrested, accused of having child sex abuse material

A Summit County resident who police say works with teens and travels internationally was arrested Tuesday and accused of possessing child sex abuse material.

A Summit County resident who police say works with teens and travels internationally was arrested Tuesday and accused of possessing child sex abuse material. (Kristin Murphy, Deseret News)


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PARK CITY — A Summit County man 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 confirm Maddison's employment.

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.

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Pat Reavy, KSLPat Reavy
Pat Reavy interned with KSL in 1989 and has been a full-time journalist for either KSL or Deseret News since 1991. For the past 25 years, he has worked primarily the cops and courts beat.

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