A police officer in Washington, DC, celebrated as the first openly gay union chair is accused of grooming someone he believed was a teenage boy for sex.
Forty-seven-year-old Lt. Matthew Mahl was charged with soliciting child pornography and two counts of sexual solicitation of a minor, the New York Post reported Sunday.
The officer had been communicating with a person he believed was a 15-year-old named Nate on a Reddit site called “r/GayYoungOldDating.”
Mahl, who was the leader of the DC Police Union from 2016 to 2018, is accused of sending sexually explicit messages and naked photos to the individual, who was actually a detective working undercover.
An image shows the suspect wearing a jail outfit:
Mahl shared details about his identity with the “teen” and offered his phone number, which Harford County Sheriff’s Office Detective Christopher Sergent linked to the suspect. The Post article continued:
In one particularly skin-crawling exchange, Mahl wrote that he wished “it was 2/11/27 sooooo bad,” a reference to the date he believed to be the boy’s 16th birthday, at which age he’d reach the age of consent in Maryland, the documents stated.
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The conversations grew more sexually charged as the weeks progressed. Mahl allegedly sent “several explicit images of his body,” and eventually asked the detective posing as the child to send a picture of his penis and “naked self.”
They reportedly arranged to meet in Abingdon, Maryland, on Tuesday. Mahl was arrested when he arrived at an address he thought was the teenager’s home.
In a statement following his arrest, the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) said, “The allegations in this case are extremely disturbing, and in direct contrast to the values of the Metropolitan Police Department. MPD’s Internal Affairs Division will investigate violations of MPD policy once the criminal investigation concludes,” according to Fox 45.
Mahl is reportedly on administrative leave.
The DC MD VA Live X account reported Mahl is on administrative leave.
“Mahl was also stripped of his gun, badge, and uniform back in 2013 while serving as the supervisor of MPD’s Gay and Lesbian Liaison Unit at the time,” the account stated, adding, “The reason behind the suspension that time was for an ‘undisclosed allegation.’”
According to the Post, Mahl was a special operations officer who helped with security for President Donald Trump and other officials.
Child pornography, which is also known as child sexual abuse material (CSAM), is a form of child sexual exploitation, per the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ):
The expansion of the Internet and advanced digital technology lies parallel to the explosion of the child pornography market. Child pornography images are readily available through virtually every Internet technology, including social networking websites, file-sharing sites, photo-sharing sites, gaming devices, and even mobile apps. Child pornography offenders can also connect on Internet forums and networks to share their interests, desires, and experiences abusing children, in addition to selling, sharing, and trading images.
These online communities have promoted communication and collaboration between child pornography offenders, thereby fostering a larger relationship premised on a shared sexual interest in children. This has the effect of eroding the shame that typically would accompany this behavior, as well as desensitizing those involved to the physical and psychological damage caused to the child victims. For this reason, online communities attract and encourage new individuals to join them in the sexual exploitation of children.
The agency noted, “Unfortunately, no area of the United States or country in the world is immune from individuals who seek to sexually exploit children through child pornography.”
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