Columbia bank employee arrested for exchanging explicit photos with minor
A Columbia man was arrested Wednesday, accused of exchanging explicit photos with an underage teen from Ohio.
The investigation into Matthew Melton, 35, started in late May, after a report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Melton was arrested at the Central Bank of Boone County, where he worked as a branch manager.
He has no prior criminal record.
“It’s like textbook that they don’t have any prior law enforcement contact, so it’s just a matter of time before they get caught up with,” said Tracy Perkins, a detective with the Boone County Sheriff’s Cyber Crimes Task Force.
The 15 year-old’s mother found communication on a phone, including pictures, before reaching out to the center’s CyberTip hotline.
Perkins said the mother did the right thing by reporting the incident to authorities.
“You should monitor or track the accounts that your child is accessing because this is an ongoing problem and its not going to automatically stop unless a parent is going to intervene,” she said.
Officials said Melton used a social media app to contact the teenager. The agency sent details to the Boone County Cyber Crimes Task Force. It traced the information to Melton, who was taken into custody at his work.
Melton already bonded out for attempted sexual exploitation of a minor and furnishing pornographic materials to a minor.
Perkins said the investigation is still ongoing. The agency has several of Melton’s media devices that still need to be searched.
She said it’s important for parents to monitor what web sites and social media apps their children are using.
“More and more kids are being exposed or wanting to be exposed to these social media apps at a younger age and a lot of parents are not aware that there are guidelines,” she said. “Make sure you have certain websites and applications blocked where they would have to get your approval to use them.”
Many social media sites require its users to be at least 13 years old to have an account.
