COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho — A local man is facing federal charges for allegedly possessing child sexual abuse materials, as reported by KREM 2 News partner the Coeur d'Alene/ Post Falls Press.
Matthew G. Barszcz, 26, of Coeur d’Alene, is charged with possession of child pornography, a felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
Barszcz was previously charged with five counts of sexual exploitation of a child by distribution of sexually explicit materials, all felonies.
The state dismissed its case in late January, after a grand jury indicted Barszcz.
The charges stem from July 2020, when detectives from the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force searched for people distributing images of child sexual abuse via BitTorrent, a peer-to-peer file-sharing network.
Police reportedly found a device containing multiple files that were previously identified as being of interest to child pornography investigations.
Using the IP address associating with the device, police determined it was located at the Coeur d’Alene residence where Barszcz lived. They obtained a search warrant for the location.
A team consisting of at least 20 law enforcement personnel executed the search warrant in the early hours of Feb. 3, 2021.
A household member testified she woke around 6 a.m. to police
lights flashing outside and someone talking on a loudspeaker.
Dozens of armed police were outside, she said, including a SWAT team.
Police detained the woman, who told them the other residents, including Barszcz, were inside the house.
SWAT officers reportedly threw flash bangs outside the residence before Barszcz exited.
Flash bangs are explosive devices used to disorient a target with a blinding flash of light and a loud bang.
Police then entered the home, wherein they seized electronics belonging to Barszcz.
A forensic examination of the devices allegedly yielded numerous images and videos depicting child sexual abuse, as well as other content.
The content was downloaded between June and October 2020, according to court documents.
Barszcz allegedly told police he searched for, and downloaded, the material in order to report it to law enforcement.
He reportedly said he was a follower of QAnon, a disproven conspiracy theory alleging that a secret cabal of Satan-worshipping, cannibalistic pedophiles is running a global child sex-trafficking ring.
Barszcz also told police he knew it was illegal to possess images of child sexual abuse but found the images “intriguing,” according to court documents.
A judge issued a warrant for Barszcz’s arrest March 23, 2021.
Barszcz turned himself in the following day and later posted $200,000 bail.
Barszcz’s attorney filed a motion last June to suppress all evidence gathered during and after the raid, on the grounds that the search warrant was executed unreasonably, in violation of the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States.
The Coeur d'Alene Press is a KREM 2 news partner. For more from our news partner, click here.