Former Brewster Officer Pleads Guilty To Child Porn Charges

BARNSTABLE – A former Brewster police officer has entered guilty pleas on several charges after his arrest on child pornography charges last summer. Matthew B. Marshall will be sentenced on Feb. 27. 

 Meeting with Barnstable Superior Court Judge Mark Gildea on Dec. 20, Marshall reversed his previous not guilty pleas on a total of seven charges stemming from an investigation by the Massachusetts State Police and the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. He is charged with three counts of possessing child pornography and one count each of being a first responder unlawfully photographing a scene, felony vandalism, unlawfully disseminating criminal records information, and photographing an unsuspecting nude person.

 On July 25, investigators brought the charges after having been tipped off by social media company Snapchat that one of their users, identified as Marshall, had uploaded pornographic photos of young girls. The investigation uncovered several other alleged offenses involving Snapchat uploads. Marshall was a Brewster police officer at the time of his arrest but resigned after being placed on administrative leave.

 Investigators allege that the Snapchat account controlled by Marshall contained a nine-second video clip of "a white pubescent female with blond hair in a bedroom setting, approximately 10-13 years of age," who was fully nude and exposed herself to the camera. Another video clip allegedly showed three girls who appeared to be between 15 and 17 years of age exposing themselves in a bedroom setting. The clips led to the child pornography possession and dissemination charges.

 Poring through the Snapchat account, investigators also allegedly found several video clips of Marshall urinating on the sinks and faucets of public restrooms. One such clip allegedly shows Marshall in his police uniform urinating all over the restroom in what was later determined to be a Dunkin' Donuts restaurant in Yarmouth. For this offense, Marshall was charged with vandalism.

 The account allegedly also contained video clips related to Marshall's police work. One displayed a photograph of a subject apparently taken from the Criminal Justice Information System (CJIS), a database used for official police investigations, with audio of Marshall "making derogatory remarks about the subject whose photograph was displayed," according to the investigators' report. This yielded a charge of unlawfully disseminating criminal offender records.

 Another video appeared to have been taken while Marshall was at the scene of a call for service in Brewster, showing an elderly man in a state of undress. "The elderly man does not seem aware that he is being recorded from behind and may have a diminished mental capacity," the report reads. Another officer is shown wearing latex gloves, "indicating the incident may have been medical in nature," the investigators wrote. In response, Marshall was charged with unlawfully photographing a scene as a first responder.

 Initially, Marshall allegedly told investigators that his Snapchat account had been hacked, and that he had not downloaded child pornography. Asked about urinating on sinks, Marshall "stated people send him funny things and stated that it was stupid," investigators related. As for uploading the CJIS photo, Marshall said he has done so in the past "and got in trouble for it before."

 Marshall was arrested at the end of his duty shift on July 24, at which time Brewster Police Chief Heath Eldredge immediately suspended Marshall's license to carry a firearm, secured his service weapon, and placed him on administrative leave.

 "The allegations against Matthew Marshall are offensive and absolutely not in line with the policies and values of the Brewster Police Department," Chief Eldredge said at the time. "These actions do not represent the standards of the hardworking members of the department. Our officers stand committed to serving the community with integrity and are dedicated to building and maintaining public trust."

 Marshall was hired by the Brewster Police Department as a dispatcher in 2005 and as an officer in 2007. The case is being prosecuted by the Cape and Islands District Attorney's Office, with support from the Massachusetts State Police and the Brewster Police Department.