HARRISBURG - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Matthew S. Pleisse, 36, of Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty yesterday before United States District Judge Robert D. Mariani to possession of child pornography involving a prepubescent minor.
According to United States Attorney Brian D. Miller, in April 2025, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Pleisse’s residence and seized several electronic devices including his personal computer and cell phone. Both devices were forensically analyzed and law enforcement found Pleisse utilized cryptocurrency to purchase child pornography from the darkweb and possessed child pornography depicting prepubescent minors.
As part of his plea agreement, Pleisse will be required to resign from his position with the Shippensburg Police Department within 10 days and is required not to seek or accept a position of public trust as a condition of his supervised release. The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen W. Dukes is prosecuting the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit Justice.gov/PSC.
If convicted, Pleisse faces a maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. A sentence following the finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.# # #