Bastrop County Sheriff's lieutenant, Eddie Matthews, charged with continuing sexual abuse of a child/ Matthew resigns/Update: 11/14/12: Sentenced to 59 Years!

Police Lieutenant, accused of abuse resigns
Police: Abuse against 8-year-old lasted a year

Updated: Thursday, 04 Mar 2010, 12:19 PM CST
Published : Friday, 26 Feb 2010, 11:20 AM CST

* Karen Brooks, KXAN staff

BASTROP COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) - A Bastrop County Sheriff's lieutenant, charged with continuing sexual abuse of a child, has resigned, confirmed officials.

Lt. Eddie Matthews, 45, is charged with continuing sexual abuse of a child after being accused of repeatedly raping a young girl over the course of a year, officials said Friday. The girl was 8 when the alleged attacks started, police said. Matthews was arrested last wek by the Texas Rangers and was held in jail in lieu of $100,000 bond.

Matthews was a 16-year veteran of the department who oversaw patrol operations, officials said. He is on administrative leave during the criminal and internal investigations. Sheriff Terry Pickering called Matthews an "outsanding employee." He has reportedly been arrested in the past, but Pickering said that the case had been expunged from Matthews' record, and he refused to comment further.

The charge is a first-degree felony punishable by 25 to 99 years or life in prison, with no early release, no probation and stronger penalties under Jessica's Law if he is convicted of the same charge after his release.

The offense involves repeated acts of sexual abuse against a child under the age of 14 over a period of at least 30 days. Matthews denies the charges, police said.

Matthews is accused of committing "more than ten acts of indecency with a child by contact and more than 10 acts of aggravated sexual assault of a child over the past year," according to a news release from Bastrop County officials. The charges stem from accusations that he touched her inappropriately, forced her to perform oral sex, and raped her repeatedly, according to the affidavit.

The crimes were reported to Bastrop Sheriff's officials, Elgin police, Child Protective Services and Texas Rangers late Thursday. The first incident reportedly happened in March 2009, documents show.

The victim's mother told police she saw Matthews inappropriately touching the girl several times, and she confronted him about it - but he repeatedly denied anything sexual, according to an affidavit. In October, she walked in on Matthews lying unclothed in the bed with the child, the affidavit states, but she did not call police at the time. It is unknown why the mother waited so long to come forward with these alleged crimes.

According to an official release:

"The investigation began late yesterday (Thursday) when law enforcement first learned of the allegations against Mr. Matthews. Upon receipt of the initial allegations, Mr. Matthews was placed on Administrative leave and his badge and duty weapons were surrendered to the Bastrop County Sheriff’s Office pending further investigation.

"The investigation continued into the night, culminating in the issuance of the arrest warrant and subsequent arrest this morning.

"It is important for the public to note that this crime appears to have been 'isolated' in that it was perpetrated against a single victim, that the victim was not a stranger to Mr. Matthews and that Mr. Matthews did not use his position in law enforcement to assist in perpetrating this crime.

"It is also important to note that while probable cause does exist to support Mr. Matthew’s arrest and subsequent suspension from employment, he has yet to be indicted by the Grand Jury or found guilty of this offense."

The victim has obtained a protective order that bars Matthews from any further contact with her.

video here:

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This is the County I live in.

WHY would the mother allow a 45 year old man in the same bed w/her 8 year old daughter and WHY didn't she report it from the get-go??

Is this guy related to the Mother and child, or is this another of the Mom's who bring the BF into the home?

Offender Record
Offender ID: 441747
Offender Name: EDDIE LABERON MATTHEWS
Date of Birth: 10/02/1964
Age: 45
Custody Status: Out of Custody
Reason: Bonded out
Date: 02/26/2010
Race: Black
Gender: Male

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What sort of bond was set?

Child sex abuse suspect freed on bail Friday
March 1st, 2010

Bastrop, Tx–Bastrop County Sheriff Terry Pickering had barely finished briefing the media Friday on the arrest of a top-ranking department officer when the suspect, charged with a series of sexual offenses involving a nine-year-old girl, posted bail and was released from jail.

Lt. Eddie L. Matthews, 45, was taken into custody about 8:45 a.m. Friday and ordered held under $100,000 bail. Jail records show that Matthews was released at 3:21 p.m. after a local bail bond company posted a bond the same day.

Pickering scheduled a media briefing on the case for 2 p.m. Friday, but the session did not begin until almost 2:30 p.m. It lasted about 30 minutes.

Matthews, a 16-year veteran of the sheriff’s department, was in charge of the patrol division prior to his arrest. He was immediately suspended from duty pending an internal departmental probe, said Pickering. Matthews is accused of repeated assaults on the girl beginning last year.

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Marica wrote:Is this guy related to the Mother and child, or is this another of the Mom's who bring the BF into the home?

Not sure.

Marica wrote:What sort of bond was set?

$100,000 as stated upthread. :lol!:

Marica, statistically it is probably the BFF! When is this darn mess going to stop. These little children being like a perv's play toy. I sure hope she gets intense threapy, intense and long lasting.

BCSO Lieutenant Matthews arrested

Lieutenant Eddie Matthews of the Bastrop County Sheriff's Office was arrested Friday morning, Feb. 26 for the felony offense of continuing sexual abuse of a child.

He was taken into custody by Texas Ranger Brent Barina, who in cooperation with the Bastrop County Sheriff's Office, the Bastrop County District Attorney's Office and the Children's Advocacy Center, conducted the investigation of the allegations against Matthews.

Based upon the findings of his investigation, Ranger Barina was able to secure an arrest warrant from 423rd District Judge Christopher Duggan for the arrest of Matthews. Matthews was subsequently arrested without incident and booked into the Bastrop County Jail with a $100,000 bond, according to Bastrop County Sheriff Terry Pickering.

On Monday, the BCSO reported that Matthews had posted bond Friday afternoon and was on administrative leave with pay.

Continuous sexual assault of a child is a first degree felony punishable from 25 to 99 years or life in prison.

A jury cannot recommend probation for a person convicted of this offense and there is no provision for early release from the sentence that is imposed. The offense involves repeated (2 or more) acts of sexual abuse against a child under the age of 14 over a period of at least 30 days.

The charges against Matthews allege that he committed more than 10 acts of indecency with a child by contact and more than 10 acts of aggravated sexual assault of a child over the past year, according to the Bastrop County Sheriff's Office report. His alleged victim was eight years old when the assaults began.

The investigation began late Thursday evening when law enforcement first learned of the allegations against Matthews.

Upon receipt of the initial allegations, Matthews was placed on administrative leave and his badge and duty weapons were surrendered to the Bastrop County Sheriff's Office pending further investigation. The investigation continued into the night, culminating in the issuance of the arrest warrant and subsequent arrest Friday, according to the BCSO.

It is important for the public to note that this crime appears to have been 'isolated' in that it was perpetrated against a single victim, that the victim was not a stranger to Matthews and that Matthews did not use his position in law enforcement to assist in perpetrating this crime.

The BCSO stresses it is also important to note that while probable cause does exist to support Matthew's arrest and subsequent suspension from employment, he has yet to be indicted by the Grand Jury or found guilty of this offense.

District Attorney Bryan Goertz stated that the pending investigation will provide evidence that will be presented to the Grand Jury. He also said he would probably call a special prosecutor in on the case.

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WHAT?? What difference does this make if this is once or one hundred times he molested this child and this child only? OMG, this is the county I live in. A bunch of bungling red necks who are clueless. Honestly, I would NOT be here if it weren't for my grandchildren.

These people are just plain ignorant! :mad:

If he's getting paid then he should be earning his pay. Let him clean ditches along the freeway! :mad:
This is so not right!

I SO agree with you!!!!!!!!!!!! I guess they will pay him while they are running an "internal investigation". Whatever.

WHAT?? What difference does this make if this is once or one hundred times he molested this child and this child only? OMG, this is the county I live in. A bunch of bungling red necks who are clueless.

Matthews resigns as BCSO officer

Bastrop County Sheriff Terry Pickering confirmed on Monday that a letter of resignation from former Lt. Eddie Laberon Matthews was received and became effective Mar. 5.

Matthews, 45, was arrested by Texas Ranger Brent Barina, after being charged with continuing sexual assault and abuse of a child. The victim was identified as a nine-year-old girl.
Matthews had previously been on paid administrative leave, according to Sheriff Pickering.

A complaint was filed by the child's mother, alleging a continuing pattern of sexual abuse that had allegedly been going on for a year. Matthews allegedly had abused the girl twice since October of 2009. Matthews has denied all of the allegations.

According to the Sheriff's Office, Matthews is currently free on bond. Sheriff Pickering stated that Matthews did not use the influence of the sheriff's office in the alleged actions.

Continuous sexual assault of a child, as a first degree felony, is punishable from 25 to 99 years or life in prison.
Efforts to reach Sgt. Barina, Texas Ranger, before presstime were not successful.

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He should have been fired rather than allowed to resign.

Yes, you are right. He should have been. But, this is Texas. And, a small town at that. "Innocent untill proven guilty." He is still getting paid until there is an internal investigation.

His girlfriend's child, no doubt.
Way to go MOM.

Thursday, September 27, 2012 | Cyndi Wright
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The trial of a former 16-year veteran with the Bastrop County Sheriff’s Office, who was arrested and charged with the felony offense of continuing sexual abuse of a child, will begin on Monday.

Eddie Matthews, 47, was arrested by Texas Ranger Brent Barina on Feb. 26, 2010 after an investigation was initiated by the family of the alleged victim.

The Bastrop County Sheriff’s Office, the Bastrop County District Attorney’s Office and the Children’s Advocacy Center conducted the investigation into the allegations against Matthews. Based upon the findings of this investigation, Ranger Barina secured an arrest warrant from 423rd District Judge Christopher Duggan for the arrest of Matthews. Matthews was subsequently arrested without incident and booked into the Bastrop County Jail with a $100,000 bond. He later bonded out.

Presiding over the trial will be District Judge Terry Flenniken. Prosecuting the case will be the attorney general’s office with assistant attorney general Brenda Cantu representing the state. District Attorney Bryan Goertz said Matthews has no criminal history and all records associated with his arrest(s) have been expunged and are no longer available. Goertz recused himself from prosecuting the trial because of Matthews’ high-ranking status in the sheriff’s office.

In a phone call Thursday, Cantu declined to comment on the case.

Matthews’ attorney is Jorge Sanchez of Austin. He also declined to comment until after the trial.

At a press conference held when Matthews was arrested in 2010, Sheriff Terry Pickering said that Matthews had been arrested previously while in the department’s employ, but said Matthews has also received numerous commendations and promotions while employed with the department.

The current charge against Matthews is a first-degree felony, punishable from 25 to 99 years or life in prison. The offense involves repeated (two or more) acts of sexual abuse against a child under the age of 14 over a period of at least 30 days. The allege that he committed more than 10 acts of indecency with a child by contact and more than 10 acts of aggravated sexual assault of a child over a year. His alleged victim was 8 years old when the assaults reportedly began.

According to the complaint filed by Barina, Matthews denied all allegations of sexual misconduct.

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The child sexual abuse trial of former Bastrop County Sheriff’s Deputy Eddie Laberon Matthews begins Monday, Oct. 1.

Matthews is charged with continuous sexual abuse of a child and could receive a sentence of 25 years to life if found guilty. He would not be eligible for parole.

The trial will take place in the 21st District Court in Bastrop with presiding judge Terry Flenniken. The Attorney General’s Office of Texas was appointed to prosecute the case. The prosecutor will be Assistant Attorney General Brenda Cantu. Bastrop County District Attorney Bryan Goertz recused himself and his department because Matthews was a high-ranking deputy. Matthews is being defended by attorney Jorge Sanchez.

According to the Grand Jury Report for April 2011, Matthews sexually abused a child who was younger than 14 years of age. The abuse allegedly occurred between Jan. 6, 2009 and Jan. 31, 2010.

Matthews, a 16-year veteran of the sheriff’s office, was arrested Feb. 26 by Texas Ranger Brent Barina, as reported in the March 3, 2010 Elgin Courier. Barina obtained an arrest warrant after conducting an investigation with the cooperation of the sheriff’s office, the Bastrop County District Attorney’s Office and the Children’s Advocacy Center.

The Courier reported that Matthews was charged with committing more than 10 acts of indecency with a child by contact and more than 10 acts of aggravated sexual assault of a child. The alleged victim was reportedly 8 years old when the assaults began.

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My dil knew him as she works for Bastrop County. Said he was always very respectful. You just never know anymore.

Posted: Wednesday, November 14, 2012 2:54 pm | Updated: 2:56 pm, Wed Nov 14, 2012.

Former Bastrop County Sheriff’s Deputy Eddie Matthews was sentenced to 50 years in a Texas penitentiary by Judge Terry Flenniken of the 21st District Court.

He was found guilty of continuous sexual abuse of a child on Oct. 5, following a week-long jury trial. Sentencing took place on Nov. 9 after nine hours of jury deliberation.

Matthews was accused of sexually abusing a child from Jan. 6, 2009 to Jan. 31, 2010. The child was 8 and 9 years old at the time.

The sentencing phase included testimony from the mother of the young girl, whose statement that the abuse had given her daughter a scar for life, was read by prosecuting attorney Brenda Cantu of the Attorney General’s Office.

There was also testimony from several of Matthews’ relatives, who asked the judge for mercy based on positive traits he has shown in the past.

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Good news! So glad he'll spend (probably) the rest of his life in prison!

Quite honestly, I am Shocked he was found guilty since he was a cop in Bastrop and well liked. My DIL w/probably trip out.