Gainesville man arrested on 58 child pornography charges

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Matthew Jason Friedman, 39, was arrested yesterday on 58 charges related to child pornography.

On March 19, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received a CyberTip about chats between an account on Kik and four Kik users who identified themselves as minors between the ages of 14 and 17; the suspect account identified himself in the chats as being 26 years old.

One of the login IP addresses for the suspect account was found to be a Cox account billed to Friedman at an apartment at The Hammocks on 20th (3751 SW 20th Avenue).

The suspect account reportedly asked one of the other accounts for pictures of “your belly or bulge” and offered to be a “sugar daddy” who “will buy you stuff,” sent a picture of his genitals, and asked the other account for nude pictures of his genitals, which he received.

A second account, who said he was 15, sent nude pictures of himself to the suspect account, and the suspect account sent a picture of his genitals to the second account.

In multiple chats, the suspect account asked the other users to hold their fingers next to their genitals for a size comparison and sent similar pictures of himself.

In a chat with a third account who said he was 16, the suspect account said one of his biggest fantasies is “someone like you that knows he’s bigger and younger and let’s [sic] me see it.” He asked that account if he wanted to be spoiled and said he wanted to buy him “stuff.” The other account said he would like a PlayStation Plus, and after some negotiation about the amount, the suspect account sent the third account a $25 PlayStation Store gift card. The suspect account offered to pay the third account to meet and engage in sexual activity and said he could give him “like 10-50$ every day if we had fun and stuff.” The suspect account asked for and received a video of the third account masturbating and also offered to get a hotel room and pay the third account for sex.

The suspect account requested that a fourth account, who said he was 17, send a picture of his genitals with his finger for a size comparison, and the fourth account sent the picture. When asked if he wanted to be “spoiled,” the fourth account asked for “like 30 to 50 a week” on the Cash app. When the Cash app didn’t work, the fourth account sent another Cash app account but then said he declined the payment “cuz something’s wrong with my account sorry daddy.”

A subpoena to Google for information from the suspect account’s email address reportedly revealed that the account was owned by Friedman at his address and with a phone number that matched the phone number Cox provided for the internet account.

A search warrant to Kik reportedly produced chats with two additional accounts that identified themselves as 15 and 17 years old; in one of them, the suspect account and the other account agreed to move the chat to Telegram. The sixth account refused to send a picture.

According to the arrest report, Friedman was previously the subject of a CyberTip in 2016 after a citizen reported that in an email conversation, Friedman referred to a 13-year-old family member as a “flirt” and talked about the boy’s “bulge.” That CyberTip was ultimately referred to the agency where the 13-year-old lived, and no further information was provided.

Gainesville Police Department officers executed a search warrant at Friedman’s apartment on July 24, and Friedman reportedly requested an attorney.

A review of Friedman’s cell phone reportedly produced an account for the email address associated with the Kik account, along with the Kik account itself, the chats described above, and child pornography images and videos.

A search warrant was obtained for pictures of Friedman’s body, and those pictures reportedly matched pictures found in the Kik account.

Friedman has been charged with 22 counts of soliciting a child, six counts of harmful communication with a minor, seven counts of transmission of harmful material to a minor, and 23 counts of possession of child pornography, including pictures showing adult males engaged in sexual activity with infants and toddlers. His full criminal history is unavailable, but he has no local criminal history and has been in the area since at least 2014; according to his arrest report, he works at the Oaks Mall. Judge Kristine Van Vorst set bail at $7,750,000.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.