A man who runs a local estate sale company is sitting in jail accused of possessing child pornography. The owner of El Paso Estate Sales and Appraisals, Jason Matthews, was arrested after being targeted during an Operation Predator investigation. Operation Predator is an international initiative designed to protect children from sexual predators and exploitation.
Matthews’ home on Proud Eagle Drive on the city’s east side was raided last week by federal agents. 547 files of child pornography were downloaded from a device with an IP address to which Matthews was the subscriber last October. The files that were there are so vile that I won’t describe them.
The El Paso Police Department’s Bomb Squad was called to the scene of the home. No details were released by HSI officials nor is it mentioned in court documents as to why the bomb squad was called to the home.
Matthews was arrested on suspicion of sexual exploitation of minors and activities relating to material constituting or containing child pornography.
Jail records do not state if bond was set for Matthews. He is scheduled for a detention hearing Monday.
“Innocent children are irreparably harmed in the production of child pornography, and individuals who distribute such revolting material continue to victimize them,” HSI El Paso Special Agent in Charge Erik P. Breitzke said in a statement. “Protecting the most innocent members of our society is a top priority for HSI and we will not relent in our efforts to take child predators off our streets by putting them where they belong - behind bars.”