A man from Kenton County, who previously worked as a band assistant with Fort Thomas Independent Schools, was arrested on Wednesday on multiple charges related to child pornography.
A 22-year-old man named Matthew Schnapp was apprehended in Independence following a tip received by Kenton County Police Department detectives from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, as stated in a post on the police department’s Facebook page.
The department was contacted by NCMEC regarding the uploading of disturbing images to the internet, according to the post.
“Internet service providers have a duty to report suspicious images or videos suspected of being child pornography,” Kenton County Police Public Information Officer Aaron Schihl said. “The way they do that is through the Center For Missing and Exploited Children.”
Schihl discovered additional evidence of child pornography during a search of Schnapp’s residence.
“We take internet crimes against children very seriously,” Schihl said. “There are times it’s referred to as a victimless crime, but that’s far from the truth. Even a still picture, every time that image is viewed by someone else, that child is revictimized.”
According to a post on the police department’s Facebook page, investigators have successfully linked the accounts containing the images to Schnapp.
Schnapp was taken into custody during a search of his residence in the Harvest Hill subdivision on August 28th.
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Superintendent Brian Robinson informed students via email on Wednesday that Schnapp is no longer employed by the school district.
“Matthew Schnapp, an assistant within the marching band program was arrested and charged by Kenton County Police,” the email said. “Upon receiving the information about the charges, our district issued Mr. Schnapp a termination letter, effective immediately.
“Presently, there is no knowledge that any student within our school system is a victim of the alleged criminal behavior.”
Schnapp is currently facing a number of charges:
- 30 charges related to the possession of explicit material involving minors under 12
- 30 charges related to the distribution of explicit material involving a minor under 12
Schnapp was transported to the Kenton County Detention Center and was required to post a $25,000 cash bond. If he is paid, he will be placed under electronic monitoring.
