Former Hilltown officer pleads guilty to child pornography possession
A former Hilltown police officer admitted last week to possessing child pornography, according to the Montgomery County DA's office.
On Friday, Matthew Reiss, 48, of Upper Hanover, pleaded guilty in Montgomery County Court to three counts possessing child pornography Friday.
What was Matthew Reiss charged with?
Reiss was charged in two separate cases in 2021, alleging he had hundreds of images and videos of child pornography on his electronic devices.
He was first charged in May 2021, after investigators received a tip about two child sexual abuse images being uploaded to a Google account, according to charging documents. Authorities tracked the account back to Reiss and found 10 images of child pornography on his Google account, according to the DA's office.
Two months later, the DA's office filed additional charges after detectives searched his electronics, which included an external hard drive. County detectives found 1,437 image files and 258 video files of child pornography, according to court documents.
When was Matthew Reiss a Hilltown police officer?
Reiss served with Hilltown police for 18 years prior to his resignation in late May 2021. He was placed on administrative suspension before he resigned. Officials have said his offenses are not connected with his former Hilltown police position.
At the time, he was the lead investigator in a harassment case in which a woman was accused of using "deepfake" technology to harass her daughter's cheerleading teammates. Reiss wrote in charging documents that she used the technology to commit the crimes.
About two months later, the Bucks County DA's office would say no "deepfake" technology was found in the case.
Reiss testified during the trial last year that he believed the initial video was "deepfaked" because of his research into the topic. He admitted to never running a program on the video to test the theory.
For subscribers:Chalfont mom sentenced for harassing daughter's cheerleader teammates, despite no 'deepfake' evidence
Woman found guilty:Videos weren't deepfakes, but Chalfont mom still found guilty of harassing daughter's cheerleader teammates
Reiss charged:DA: Ex-Hilltown cop had hundreds of images, videos of child pornography
What's next in Reiss' case?
Reiss entered an open guilty plea Friday, meaning there was no agreed-upon sentence. Sentencing was deferred until June for evaluations. He remains free on bail.
His attorney declined comment when reached Tuesday.
This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Ex-Hilltown cop pleads guilty in child pornography case in Montgomery County
