MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A former deputy in Crockett County, Tennessee was sentenced to more than 18 years in federal prison on child exploitation charges, the Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee announced Monday.
Matthew Berry, 42, of Eads, was sentenced to 220 months in federal prison followed by five years’ supervised release. He is not eligible for parole.
Prosecutors said that in June 2019, authorities in Indiana began investigating a case of exploitation and discovered that materials were being made available over the internet from a computer in West Tennessee.
A search warrant was issued for Berry’s address in Bells, Tennessee. Berry told detectives he had been viewing the materials for a “long time.”
The investigation also revealed that Berry was involved in a sexual relationship with a minor, and had taken inappropriate photos of multiple women and children out in public, prosecutors said.
He was employed in Crockett County at the time. He had previously worked as an officer in Halls, Ripley, Maury City and Brownsville.
