January 18, 2019: Firefighter Pleads to Possession of Child Pornography at Work

A Los Angeles County firefighter pleaded no contest today to one felony count of possession of child pornography, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced.

Matthew David Winters, 51, was given a suspended sentence of 16 months in state prison and must register for life as a sex offender under the terms of a negotiated plea agreement. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Deborah S. Brazil also sentenced him to five years of formal probation.

Winters also is required to complete 60 days of community labor, must attend one year of sex offender treatment, subject to search and seizure conditions, prohibited from possessing any pornography and can’t have any unsupervised contact with minors except for family members.

A progress report hearing is scheduled for March 6 in Department 34 of the Foltz Criminal Justice Center.

Deputy District Attorney Teresa de Castro of the Cyber Crime Division prosecuted case BA469548.

On or between December 2017 and May 2018, Winters was found to have been in possession of child pornography on a computer at a fire station in El Monte, the prosecutor said.

The case was investigated by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Human Trafficking Bureau.