Bucks County Police Officer Matthew Reiss Arrested On Child Pornography Charges
NORRISTOWN, Pa. (CBS) -- A Bucks County police officer has been put on leave after he was arrested on child pornography charges. The Montgomery County District Attorney's Office said Wednesday 10 images of child pornography were found on 47-year-old Matthew Reiss's email.
Reiss, who lives in Upper Hanover Township, Montgomery County, is a police officer in Hilltown Township in Bucks County. He was placed on administrative leave after his arrest, according to authorities.
Hilltown Township Police Chief Chris Engelhart told Eyewitness News that he found out about the investigation late Monday and was shocked about the allegations against Reiss, who until this week, was a model officer for the past 18 years.
The Montgomery County DA's Office said authorities were alerted by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children on April 16 about two child pornography images uploaded to a Google email account belonging to a resident in Palm, Upper Hanover Township. Authorities said the cellphone number associated with the Gmail account belonged to Reiss.
According to officials, detectives executed a search warrant on Google regarding the account and found 660 images, including 10 images featuring children under the age of 13 in sexual poses and being sexually assaulted. Officials said chats were also provided to detectives via the search warrant, and in one of the chats, Reiss allegedly said he worked for a "local government entity."
While Montgomery County officials say there is no connection between Reiss's work and any of the charges, the Bucks County DA said they "will evaluate all criminal cases in which Reiss played a role."
In a statement, Engelhart said, he's "angered" and that Reiss's acts, if true, "would be a betrayal of his oath as a police officer, the public trust and the trust of his fellow officers."
Reiss is facing 10 felony counts of possessing child pornography. He posted a $75,000 bail and was released.
His preliminary hearing is set for June 7.
CBS3's Alicia Roberts contributed to this report.
