Michigan sex offender sentenced to prison after using social media to send child porn while on parole
Matthew Warne (Michigan Sex Offender Registry)
OTTAWA COUNTY, Mich. (FOX 2) - A Michigan man on parole for sex crimes is headed back to prison after he was caught with child porn.
An investigation into Matthew James Warne, 34, of Zeeland, started after authorities were called about him allegedly filming in a bathroom at work. This led to the discovery of child porn that he was sharing with the social media app Telegram.
Warne was sentenced to 38 years in prison and 10 years of supervised release this week after he pleaded guilty in March.
"Every day of this sentence against Mr. Warne is deserved, but it hardly begins to undo the harm against the innocent and vulnerable children who are the victim of this crime," said U.S. Attorney Mark Totten. "Each image of child pornography that Warne possessed and distributed represents the sexual abuse of a real child."
Warne has previous convictions for third-degree criminal sexual conduct in 2013 and criminal sexual conduct - assault with intent to commit sexual penetration in 2018.
"The significant sentence in this case underscores the importance of keeping innocent children safe from dangerous predators and serves as a warning to those individuals who prey upon the most vulnerable in our society," said Devin J. Kowalski, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Michigan. "Distributing child abuse images repeatedly victimizes a child and the FBI will dedicate resources to investigating anyone who commits crimes of this nature."