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Fifteen years in prison, $30K restitution to victim ordered in Bedford man’s sexual exploitation case

By Dean Shalhoup - Senior Staff Reporter | Aug 24, 2021

The Warren B. Rudman U.S. District Courthouse in Concord

CONCORD — Matthew Dion, the Bedford man who pleaded guilty in May to a federal charge of attempted sexual exploitation of a minor, has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison and ordered to pay $30,000 in restitution to the victim, who was 15 at the time the crime occurred.

Dion, 49, last known address of 51 Barrington Drive in Bedford, was arrested in April 2020, about a week after a representative of an organization that facilitates foreign exchange students traveling to the United States and residing with American host families contacted Bedford police, according to acting U.S. Attorney John J. Farley.

The representative told police that a 15-year-old student who had been staying in Dion’s home “believed he had been recorded by Dion while he showered,” according to Farley’s statement.

He said the boy discovered “what he believed to be a camera hidden inside a device that looked like a pen” in the bathroom he used in Dion’s home, according to the statement.

Police responded to Dion’s residence, at which time the boy was removed from the home.

Investigators returned several days later with a search warrant, and “seized various items including a micro SD card from Dion’s vehicle,” according to the statement.

In reviewing the contents of the SD card, investigators discovered “images of the boy taken in the bathroom as he was getting out of the shower … at least one of these images was sexually explicit in that the focal point was the child’s genital area,” the statement reads.

A forensic examiner determined that the SD card had been formatted shortly after police first visited Dion’s home, which, according to the statement, “is consistent with someone attempting to delete items from the device on that date.”

Once Dion serves his sentence he will be placed on supervised release for five years, according to the sentencing order. There is also a $5,000 assessment fee Dion must pay on the $30,000 restitution.

“This defendant’s sexual exploitation of a minor was reprehensible conduct that merited this serious prison sentence,” Farley stated. “By placing a hidden camera in a bathroom, the defendant stole the innocence of a young teen and betrayed the trust of the family that had agreed to let this foreign exchange student live in the defendant’s home.”

The sentence, Farley added, “should send a message that this type of criminal conduct will not be tolerated” in New Hampshire.

Added Matthew B. Millhollin, special agent In charge of the Boston office of Homeland Security Investigations, “attempting to sexually exploit a minor is always wrong, but doing so under the facade of participation in a foreign student exchange program only adds to the damaging impact of the crime in this case.

“As a result of his corrupt victimization of a minor student, Dion also created unwarranted damage to the reputation of the foreign student exchange program by betraying the trust they had placed in him as a participant,” Millhollin added.

Involved in the investigation in addition to Bedford police and federal authorities were Milford police, Homeland Security Investigations and the New Hampshire Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

Dean Shalhoup may be reached at 594-1256 or dshalhoup@nashuatelegraph.com.

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