A Fox TV news anchor has been arrested on charges related to possessing and distributing child pornography.
Matt Vereen, 28, a sports reporter for FOX TV’s affiliate WACH FOX 57 in South Carolina, was taken into custody last Wednesday and charged with three counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, according to the state’s Attorney General, who announced the charges on Sunday night, August 25.
Arrest warrants obtained by WIS-TV detailed how investigators from the Columbia Police Department, the Department of Homeland Security, and the state’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force discovered child pornography on Vereen’s laptop.
One warrant revealed that officers found a digital photo on his MacBook depicting a girl, estimated to be between 11 and 13 years old, in a sexually suggestive pose. Another warrant indicated that Vereen had purchased a video lasting one minute and 32 seconds showing a nude 13-year-old girl, as well as another video of a 13-year-old girl twerking naked in a bathroom.
Investigators traced Vereen through Gmail records, Apple records, and other redacted sources.
Vereen has been with WACH FOX 57 as a sports anchor and reporter for nearly three years and previously worked at KOLR, a news station in Missouri.
In response, WACH FOX 57 has suspended Vereen pending the outcome of the investigation, stating that it ‘understands the severity of these allegations.’ A spokesperson for the station told WIS-TV that no further comments will be made as it is a personnel matter.
The Alvin S. Glenn Bond Court has released Vereen on a $40,000 cash bond with conditions, including restrictions on personal internet or social media use outside of work and no contact with minors without adult supervision.
If convicted, Vereen faces up to 30 years in prison.
