IW deputy in child porn case resigns

Published 9:19 pm Thursday, September 22, 2011

An Isle of Wight County Sheriff’s deputy named in a child pornography investigation resigned Monday, Sheriff C.W. “Charlie” Phelps said.

On Friday, Virginia State Police searched the Smithfield home of Mathew Aaron Lyons, 21, who has not been charged.

According to a search warrant filed with the Circuit Court, police asked permission to search “all computers, computer systems, digital cameras and recording devices, and any storage devices capable of electronic, magnetic, optical or audio storage that may give evidence of the possession, reproduction, distribution, or facilitation of child pornography.”

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Police were looking for “all electronic or printed images, documents, or any other items containing text, title or appearance of a person being less than 18,” according to the warrant.

Phelps said he alerted police about two weeks ago, after a deputy discovered an email on a common computer in the department that allegedly came from Lyons’ Yahoo account. The email requested “explicit naked images of 12-, 14-, 16-year-olds females,” according to court records.

“There was no pornography found on the office computer,” Phelps said. “There appeared to be a conversation that indicated there might be a problem.”

A recent graduate of the Hampton Roads Criminal Justice Training Academy, Lyons was hired in November and filled in for the school resource officer at Windsor Elementary for about five weeks at the end of the school year, according to Phelps.