Former Jewish Community Center Camp Counselor Pleads To Lesser Charge In Child Porn Case
DETROIT (WWJ/AP) - A former West Bloomfield camp counselor accused of photographing young boys in a locker room has offered a plea on child pornography charges.
Matthew Kuppe, 22, pleaded guilty in federal court Thursday to distributing photos of nude kids on the internet — about a year after his arrest. A charge of producing child porn would be dropped as part of the plea deal.
During proceedings Thursday the judge did not immediately agree to the plea deal, but said he would take it under advisement.
Kuppe worked as a counselor at the Jewish Community Center, which operates day camps in West Bloomfield and Oak Park.
The investigation began with a tip about photos of young boys on a foreign website. In a court filing, agents said they confronted Kuppe and he admitted posting photos.
Documents filed in District Court on Thursday list specifics of Kuppe's illegal online activities involving images of children, including posting nine pictures of a completely nude 5-year-old boy in the locker room of the Jewish Community Center to a Russian photo-sharing website on Aug. 5 of last year. The following day, the documents say, Kuppe posted six photos of a 6-year-old boy changing into his pajamas and another 5-year-old boy using the bathroom. [View a copy of the filing].
An investigation found that Kuppe had not only posted the photos online, but had emailed them directly to other people. Also presented as evidence in the case were emails Kuppe sent to an undercover police officer detailing the defendant's inappropriate touching of a 5-year-old.
Kuppe argued that the story was just a fantasy, and that the locker room photos he snapped were "child erotica" — not child porn.
Kuppe has been free on a tether and living with his parents since November.
If the plea is accepted, Kuppe's sentencing guidelines would call for a 10 year prison sentence.
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