A former Tyrone police officer has been indicted on more than six dozen felony crimes including several counts of child molestation that occurred in the city of Fayetteville.
Matthew Anthony New, of Orchard View, Fayetteville, 37, is accused of taking a photograph of a 13-year-old girl after he “induced” her to expose her genitals sometime between November 2007 and March 2008, according court records. New also is accused of molesting and committing sexual battery on the same victim by touching her “intimate body parts,” according to the indictment.
New is also charged with encouraging the victim to engage in “strip wrestling” with another child in the same time frame, an event which authorities allege New photographed.
New also has been charged with sexual battery resulting from his making contact with a different female victim between Oct. 2007 and March 2010, according to court records.
The incidents also resulted in two counts of child molestation being lodged against New, according to the indictments.
The lion’s share of the charges in the case are related to child pornography found on New’s computer, according to the indictment. New is charged with 68 counts of possession of electronic child pornography.
In one of those charges New is accused of videotaping a 14-year-old male who was engaged in sexual intercourse and sexually explicit activity.
All of the incidents involving minors took place at a unit in Weatherly Walk Apartments.
The case is being prosecuted by the Fayetteville Police Department.
When New was arrested in March, Tyrone Police Chief Brandon Perkins said the officer was placed on administrative leave immediately upon the agency being notified of the investigation by Fayetteville police on Feb. 2.
New later resigned from the Tyrone Police Department on Feb. 24 while under an internal investigation of unrelated policy violations pertaining to issues such as potentially falsifying time sheets, Perkins said, adding that New resigned prior to the conclusion of the investigation.
New began his employment with the Tyrone Police Department on Jan. 22, 2001, according to Perkins.
New was granted a $150,000 bond but was ordered to have no contacts with any named victims or witnesses in the case or any children under the age of 16 excepting a specifically named family member. He was also ordered to avoid having access to any device that has Internet access and to voluntarily surrender his police officer certification pending the outcome of the case.
An indictment is not an indicator of guilt. Rather it is a signal from the Fayette County grand jury that there is enough evidence for the matter to proceed to trial where a jury will determine the final outcome.
