Farmington Hills cop accused of downloading child porn
A Farmington Hills police officer was in the Oakland County Jail after being arraigned on several charges of using a computer to access child pornography, court records show.
Matthew Charles Parsons, 48, was booked into Oakland County Jail on Saturday, the same day he was arraigned in 51st District Court in Waterford Township. He faces five counts of possession of child sexually abusive material, five charges of using a computer to commit a crime and three counts of illegally recording an individual, according to statement from the Michigan Attorney General’s Office on Sunday.
Parsons’ bond was set at $300,000. He is next due in court on June 6 at 9 a.m. for a pretrial conference.
On May 25, the Attorney General’s Office issued a search warrant at the department, interviewed Parsons and searched his locker.
“It is our responsibility to secure justice for Michigan’s children, our most vulnerable victims, by prosecuting predators who exploit children,” Attorney General Bill Schuette said in the statement. “The children in these disturbing images were abused again and again by the predators that download and trade their image.”
The investigation began, Schuette’s office said, after the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children got a tip that someone had been downloading child sexually abusive material. That individual was identified as Parsons, according to Schuette’s statement.
Parsons is accused of downloading at least 10 videos of child sexually abusive material and of secretly filming an adult in the nude, the statement said.
After Parsons was interviewed, the department immediately put him on paid administrative leave, said Farmington Hills Police Chief Chuck Nebus. After he was arraigned, Parsons was suspended without pay.
According to Detroit News archives, in April 1999 Parsons saved the life of an elderly woman, Helen Rebh, by performing CPR on her until paramedics arrived. In May 2000, the Farmington Hills Optimist Club honored Parsons with the Police Officer of the Year Award.
Parsons, who worked for the patrol division, has a 25-year history with the department, Nebus said. His first five years were spent as a volunteer reserve officer and later as a cadet, while the last 20 years have been spent as a sworn officer, Nebus said.
The chief said the department will comply fully with the investigation.
“We know how important trust and integrity is,” Nebus said. “We police ourselves; we do not believe police are above the law.”
There are 104 sworn officers on the Farmington Hills force.