A Conover man was sentenced to more than six years in federal prison Thursday for receiving child pornography, according to a release from the Catawba County Sheriff’s Office.
Darren Eugene Matthews, 46, pleaded guilty to the charge in August.
A warrant was executed at his home in November 2019 after a detective with the sheriff’s office got a tip that Matthews was emailing child pornography.
The analysis of devices taken from Matthews’ home revealed more 1,300 illicit files, according to the release.
“Some of the images depicted children being sexually abused,” according to the release.
The State Bureau of Investigation helped with the investigation. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina prosecuted the case.
“We are very pleased with this outcome and our partnership with the SBI and the United States Attorney’s Office,” Sheriff Don Brown said via the release. “We will continue to work with our local, state and federal partners to aggressively pursue criminals who prey on children."
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Kevin Griffin is the City of Hickory reporter at the Hickory Daily Record.
