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Law enforcement officials in West Deptford, New Jersey have arrested and charged a former fire chief for the now shuttered Greenfields Fire Company after, they claim, thousands of files containing child pornography along with soiled children's underwear were discovered in the basement of his home.
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WATCH HEREAccording to court documents, Martin Matson, 70, of West Deptford, New Jersey, was arrested on Thursday, May 8, 2025 and has been charged with possession of child sexual assault materials.
Officials searched Matson's home, located along Weatherly Court in West Deptford, NJ, on April 17, 2025, after, court documents claim, police received a tip that a computer user at that location was using an image search tool to find an image similar to something the user had provided.
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SIGN UP In a search of the home, court documents note, police allegedly recovered over 125,000 files containing child pornography on laptops and removable digital storage devices in the basement.
Also, police claim in court documents, officials seized binders from the basement of Matson's home that contained printed out images of child pornography.
Along with these items, court documents claim, investigators discovered pairs of "young children's underwear," some of them soiled, also in the basement of the home.
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According to police, Matson allegedly told investigators he obtained the underwear by "trash-picking" through garbage bins at apartment complexes located throughout the community.
Resources for victims of sexual assault are available through the National Sexual Violence Resources Center and the National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 800-656-4673.
Matson -- who the Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office said previously served as the chief of the now shuttered Greenfields Fire Company in West Deptford -- allegedly admitted to police at the scene that he had collected these materials over the course of the past 30 years, court documents claim.
Christopher St. John, Matson's attorney, told NBC10's Siobhan McGirl that there is no evidence that his client ever engaged in any inappropriate physical conduct with anyone.
“There is no evidence of any inappropriate touching or any physical contact or any inappropriate sexual contact on behalf of Mr. Matson," he said. "I think it’s also important to note there is no evidence of distribution in this case.”
Matson has been released on bail as he awaits his next court appearance on this case. This hearing is scheduled for May 22, 2025.
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