PHOENIX (AZFamily) — A Valley youth soccer referee and children’s group volunteer was arrested after officials found several photos and videos of children being sexually abused on a flash drive in his possession, according to court documents.
Phoenix resident Matthew Hays, 41, kept a folder with child sexual abuse material that was labeled “very young,” officials said.
Hays was allegedly buying child sexual abuse material using cryptocurrency, and Robinhood Markets alerted Homeland Security and the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office to his purchases on June 5. The purchases were to addresses linked to child sexual abuse material, the company told authorities.
A Phoenix man was arrested after authorities found CSAM on a flash drive in his possession.(Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office)
Authorities were able to match Hays’s driver’s license photo with information they received from Robinhood Markets, and search warrants for Hays’s home and phone location were issued, court documents said.
Authorities learned that Hays recently traveled out of state, and when he returned on July 19, he was detained. Authorities took Hays’s electronic devices and found the abuse material on a flash drive, court documents said.
Several files showed infants being abused, according to the court documents.
Hays refused to speak with officials without his attorney present, but based on what was found, he was arrested. He faces 10 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor.
Authorities said they have not finished the forensic review of the devices, and more charges are possible.
Hays was a volunteer for Junior Achievement of Arizona and a youth soccer referee for the U.S. Soccer Federation, court documents said.
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