Registered sex offender sentenced for child pornography possession

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — A Smithfield man was sentenced Wednesday in U.S. District Court to federal prison on a litany of charges stemming from his 2020 contact with who he believed was a 14-year-old girl.

Mathew Hoard, 40, was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to charges of attempted inducement of a minor to engage in illicit sexual activity, possession with intent to view child pornography and attempted transfer of obscene material to a minor.

Hoard started online and text message communication with who he believed was a 14-year-old girl in July of 2020, which included sending a sexual explicit image and messages, requesting that the “girl” send nude pictures of herself and attempting to arrange a meeting to engage in sex.

Hoard was in reality communicating with an undercover Newport Police Department detective during this time, according to the Office of United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha.

During an unrelated investigation in February of 2020, the Rhode Island State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force learned from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that an individual had uploaded child pornography to a social media platform.

The task force determined that this action was performed from an IP address used by Hoard.

On September 29, 2020, the task force executed a search warrant on Hoard’s home and seized a laptop and cell phone.

Both devices contained child pornography video and images, including an image exchanged between Hoard and the undercover Newport detective.

Hoard was previously convicted in 2011 for possession of child pornography in Rhode Island.