A convicted sex offender from Cook County, Illinois, is facing new felony charges related to child pornography. This development follows an investigation by the Sheriff's Police, as announced by Cook County Sheriff Thomas J. Dart.
The investigation began in February when the Special Victims Division's Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Unit received a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). The tip involved a user on a social media app who had downloaded and shared files containing Child Sex Abuse Material (CSAM). Further investigation revealed connections to four additional cyber tips linked to social media accounts with similar content.
Search warrants were obtained and executed for these accounts, which led investigators to Matthew Joseph Johnson, 42, residing on the 200 block of Spring Street in Willow Springs. Johnson is already a registered sex offender due to a 2022 conviction in Will County for possession of child pornography.
On May 6, Johnson was arrested and taken to the Sheriff's Police Headquarters. After receiving his Miranda Warning, he admitted to viewing and sharing CSAM across multiple electronic devices. A forensic analysis of his phone and social media accounts uncovered hundreds of CSAM files involving victims as young as infants.
The following day, May 7, the Cook State’s Attorney’s Office approved several charges against Johnson: Dissemination of Child Pornography (a Class X felony), Possession of Child Pornography (a Class 2 felony), and Violation of Sex Offender Registration (a Class 3 felony).
Johnson appeared at the Bridgeview Courthouse for his initial hearing where he was ordered held in custody at the Cook County Jail.
Since 2020, investigations by the Sheriff’s Police have resulted in charges against 54 individuals for cases involving child victimization and child pornography. It is important to note that defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.