Former priest, Navy chaplain pleads guilty to child pornography charges

WILMINGTON, Del. – A former U.S. Navy Lt. Commander and ordained Catholic priest pleaded guilty Monday in federal court to child pornography production and distribution after a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) investigation.

John Thomas Matthew Lee, 50, of Millsboro, Delaware, pleaded guilty before Chief U.S. District Court Judge Leonard P. Stark of the District of Delaware. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for March 2, 2016. Lee is a registered sex offender following his 2007 conviction in a general court martial of sexually assaulting another Navy officer while serving as a chaplain at its U.S. Naval Academy. Lee has been in custody since his Nov. 3, 2014 arrest.

Following a series of tipline reports from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, HSI special agents were able to trace to Lee accounts that were being used to upload images of child pornography to several social networking sites.

In executing a search warrant at Lee's residence in Millsboro, special agents found tens of thousands of child-pornography images on several of Lee's electronic devices, including his phone. Via online messenger applications and text messages, Lee also used his phone to induce several juveniles to send him pornographic images of themselves. Lee uploaded at least one of these images to a publicly accessible social media site. He also traded other images of child pornography online with other adults.

"I commend all the investigators and prosecutors who have played a role in bringing this second offender to justice. As a predator focusing his attention on children, Mr. Lee can expect to spend many years, if not the remainder of his life, in prison. The Government's efforts to rid society of those who exploit and abuse children is of the highest priority and we will continue to seek out these criminals," said U.S. Attorney Charles M. Oberly III of the District of Delaware.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward J. McAndrew.

This investigation was conducted under HSI's Operation Predator, an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators. Since the launch of Operation Predator in 2003, HSI has arrested more than 10,000 individuals for crimes against children, including the production and distribution of online child pornography, traveling overseas for sex with minors, and sex trafficking of children. In fiscal year 2014, more than 2,300 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative and more than 1,000 victims identified or rescued.

HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators. From outside the U.S. and Canada, callers should dial 802-872-6199. Hearing impaired users can call TTY 802-872-6196. Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, via its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-THE-LOST.