Former police dispatcher pleads guilty to chid porn charges

KENNETT, Mo. -- A former Campbell, Mo., police dispatcher is heading to prison after pleading guilty to more than a dozen counts of possession of child pornography.

Presiding Circuit Judge Stephen Sharp sentenced Matthew Tillmon Wednesday to four years in the Missouri Department of Corrections on each of 14 counts of possession of child pornography, Dunklin County Prosecuting Attorney Steve Sokoloff said in a press release.

Sharp, Sokoloff said, followed his recommendation in sentencing Tillmon and ordering the sentences to run concurrently.

Sokoloff said the sentences imposed were the maximum for the offense at the time it was committed.

Since then, he said, the Missouri General Assembly has increased the penalty for possession of multiple images of child porn.

The charge now carries a maximum penalty of seven years or 15, if the person has more than 20 still images or any film or motion pictures, Sokoloff said.

The charges against Tillmon, Sokoloff said, stemmed from a July 12, 2007, incident while he was employed as a dispatcher for the Campbell Police Department.

Numerous images of child pornography were discovered on the department computer after the end of Tillmon's shift, Sokoloff said.

"Tillmon originally claimed that he was conducting an investigation about allegations of child pornography that involved children in Campbell, but later admitted that he just became curious when he was surfing the Internet and saw an address for a Web site that promised child sex photos," Sokoloff explained.

The ensuing investigation, Sokoloff said, was handled by Campbell officers and investigators with the Missouri State Highway Patrol's Division of Drug and Crime Control.

"I am glad that this was discovered and properly investigated," Sokoloff said. "It demonstrated good cooperation among the law enforcement agencies in our county."

Sokoloff described it as disappointing that a law enforcement employee was "doing this, and especially so to learn that he was using the department computer to download it."

Sokoloff singled out the work of Bradley Burge, a reserve officer for the Campbell Police Department and an officer with the Malden Police Department, for his work on the case.

"Brad has been a great asset here locally," Sokoloff said. "He has gotten specialized training on computer crimes investigation, with the assistance from the (Dunklin County) Sheriff's Department and the Dunklin County Law Enforcement Restitution Fund.

"This has enabled us to work on and solve serious computer-related crimes without having to wait on outside agencies to do the technical work for us."

Pertinent addresses:

Kennett, Mo.

Campbell, Mo.