Ohio teacher arrested for receipt of child pornography

COLUMBUS, Ohio - An Ohio resident was arrested today at his home in Pickerington, Ohio, for receipt of child pornography. The case was investigated U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Franklin County Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force.

Matthew R. Fisher, 33, teaches at Reynoldsburg High School and coaches the district's eighth-grade girls basketball team. HSI agents and Franklin County ICAC officers executed the search warrant, seized a computer and charged Fisher in a federal complaint. According to an affidavit filed by HSI agents investigating known child porn websites, agents found evidence that images of child pornography had been downloaded by someone on a computer located at Fisher's home.

Brian Moskowitz, special agent in charge of ICE HSI in Ohio and Michigan; Carter M. Stewart, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; and Franklin County Sheriff Jim Karnes announced the arrest and charge.

Receipt of child pornography is punishable by at least five years and up to 20 years in prison.

This investigation was part of Operation Predator, a nationwide ICE initiative to protect children from sexual predators, including those who travel overseas for sex with minors, Internet child pornographers, criminal alien sex offenders, and child sex traffickers. ICE encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-DHS-2ICE. This hotline is staffed around the clock by investigators.

Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, at 1-800-843-5678 or http://www.cybertipline.com.