Yucca Valley School Employee Charged with Child Pornography Production in Sex Abuse Case
Other Possible Victims Sought

YUCCA VALLEY—A man who was arrested last month for repeatedly sexually abusing a child over a period of several years and sharing visual depictions of the activity online was indicted by a federal grand jury earlier this month, announced Bill Lewis, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office, and André Birotte, the United States Attorney for the Central District of California.

Matthew Frazer, 42, of Yucca Valley, was arrested at his place of employment on January 31, 2014, and charged in a federal criminal complaint that has been sealed by the court. On Wednesday, February 12, 2014, a federal grand jury in Riverside returned an indictment charging Frazer with production of child pornography, a violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 2251(a). The indictment alleges the defendant knowingly enticed a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing pornography.

Frazer was arraigned on February 19 and entered a plea of not guilty. A trial date has been set for April 18, 2014.

Evidence obtained during this investigation suggests that Frazer may have victimized additional minors not yet identified. Anyone who believes s/he may have information about this investigation or knowledge of possible victims is urged to contact the FBI. For this reason, photographs of Frazer are being released publicly.

Prior to his arrest in January, Frazer was employed as a custodian with the Morongo Unified School District.

This case was initiated in 2013 after the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) provided to the FBI a series of pornographic images depicting a 4- to 6-year-old female being abused by a white male. For several months, investigators attempted to identify the male depicted in the images and identified Frazier as the suspect earlier this year.

If convicted of the charges in the indictment, Frazer faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and a statutory maximum sentence of 30 years in prison.

This case is the result of an investigation by the FBI. The following agencies provided assistance during the investigation: Riverside Police Department; the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department; the San Bernardino Police Department; the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department; and the San Bernardino County Probation Department. This investigation is continuing.

Frazer will be prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office in Riverside, part of the Central District of California.