Man accused of downloading child porn
KAYE THORNBRUGH | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 5 years, 7 months AGO
Kaye Thornbrugh is a second-generation Kootenai County resident who has been with the Coeur d’Alene Press for six years. She primarily covers Kootenai County’s government, as well as law enforcement, the legal system and North Idaho College. | March 16, 2021 1:00 AM
COEUR d’ALENE — A man is being held on $200,000 bond after police said he downloaded child pornography on the dark web.
Matthew G. Barszcz, 26, of Coeur d’Alene, is charged with five counts of sexual exploitation of a child by distribution of sexually explicit material, all felonies.
The charges stem from July 2020, when detectives with the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force searched for people possessing and distributing child pornography via BitTorrent, a peer-to-peer file sharing network.
Police reportedly found a device that possessed multiple files that were previously identified as being of interest to child pornography investigations.
Using the IP address associated with the device, police determined it was located at a Coeur d’Alene residence. They obtained a search warrant for the residence, where Barszcz lived.
When contacted by police, Barszcz reportedly said he was a follower of QAnon, a disproven conspiracy theory alleging that a secret cabal of Satan-worshipping, cannibalistic pedophiles is running a global child sex-trafficking ring and plotted against former U.S. president Donald Trump while he was in office.
Barszcz told police he searched for and downloaded child pornography in order to report it, according to court documents.
He also allegedly said he knew it was illegal to possess child pornography but found the images and videos “intriguing.”
Police seized several electronic devices belonging to Barszcz as evidence.
A forensic examination of the devices reportedly yielded multiple videos that showed naked children, as well as videos of children being sexually abused by adults, among other content.
The content was downloaded between June and October 2020, according to court documents.
A judge issued a warrant for Barszcz’s arrest on March 11. Barszcz reportedly turned himself in the following day.
Judge James Stow ordered Friday that Barszcz be held on $200,000 bail. He also ordered that Barszcz have no access to the internet.
In Idaho, sexual exploitation of a child is a felony punishable by a maximum of 30 years in prison.
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