Canton Man Indicted on Child Pornography Charges

Matthew W. Piper, age 28, of Canton, Ohio, was charged with receiving and possessing visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct and child pornography, Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, announced today.

The indictment charges between January 1, 2007, and February 28, 2007, Piper knowingly received child pornography. It further charges that between June 1, 2007, and May 13, 2010, Piper knowingly received computer image and video files, which files contained visual depictions of real minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct and child pornography. Additionally, the indictment charges that on May 13, 2010, Piper possessed an external hard drive containing child pornography.

If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense, and the characteristics of the violation. In all cases the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases it will be less than the maximum.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michael A. Sullivan. The case was investigated by the Canton office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Canton Police Department.

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.