Man arrested for child porn found on devices

HARTFORD CITY, Ind. — Officers arrested a Hartford City man after child sex abuse material was reported to be found on his devices.

Matthew D. Ely, 34, was charged with the following:

• Three counts of Child Exploitation, a Level 4 Felony
• Possession of Marijuana, a Class B Misdemeanor
• Possession of Paraphernalia, a Class C Misdemeanor

Officers from the Blackford County Sheriff’s Office and the Hartford City Police Department received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that Ely had allegedly uploaded child sex abuse material on Kik, a social media site.

The three files reportedly showed an infant, child, and teen being sexually abused by adults in multiple instances.

According to court documents, a search warrant was granted and revealed the account information on Kik to be Ely’s. They went to Ely’s home at the 200 block of W. Huntington St. and removed 10 electronic devices including multiple phones and gaming systems to further search.

Information on sentencing will be updated as it becomes available.