Matthew Pappalardo (Credit: @matthewpappa on Threads/Instagram)
Matthew Thomas Pappalardo, of Casselberry Drive in Lower Providence Township, faces 76 felony counts, filed by Montgomery County detectives after a nearly 18-month investigation
A Lower Providence man has been charged with 46 felony counts of possession of child pornography, felony criminal use of a communications device and possessing an instrument of crime following a nearly 18-month investigation by federal, state and local authorities.
Matthew Thomas Pappalardo, 38, of Casselberry Drive, was charged by Montgomery County detectives July 18 for the alleged offenses that began in January 2024.
Pappalardo was intercepted by Homeland Security and U.S. Customs in November 2024 while aboard a cruise ship, where his belongings were searched, authorities allege in a complaint. During the search, officials found Pappalardo was using messaging apps Kik and Sessions, allegedly conversing with juveniles believed to be 13 and 14, in which they sent Pappalardo photographs of themselves.
In January 2024, Homeland Security Investigations in Monterey, CA began investigating members from multiple countries, including the U.S., of an encrypted chat application called TeleGuard. In a chat group named “Groom Central,” authorities allege users discussed attempts to use the internet to communicate with minors for sexual purposes, exchanged usernames of potential victims, and child sexual abuse materials depicting potential minor victims.
Police said in January 2024, a user going by “TheMarquisdeSade” with an ID BA9FUPEST participated in the chat group by stating, “I have a girl I’m talking to but it’s very very early on. Haven’t even confirmed her yet.” Authorities allege the girl discussed was 14 years old.
Furthermore, when “TheMarquisdeSade” watched a video depicting the sexual abuse of multiple children, the user commented, “What I would do to know her,” and clarified he needed to figure out how to “share pics and vids” of his “little f--- toys,” according to investigators.
After observing the user’s participation in “Groom Central,” a Homeland Security special investigator requested data from the user’s chat application from a contact in Rome, Italy, according to the complaint. The data ultimately led to the identification of the user as Pappalardo, police said.
On Feb. 17, 2024, Pappalardo allegedly began messaging privately with the undercover investigator, admitting, among other things, to using the app Kik to meet minors, and sexually abusing a girl as young as 17.
When asked by the undercover agent what he was into, Pappalardo allegedly replied “8-12 ideally but hard to find. Most of my girls were 13-16.”
Pappalardo, a former employee at Hibu and Fanatics, allegedly admitted to finding girls that were “well trained” and would do “almost anything” and that he had to hide his online behavior from his wife.
Authorities allege Pappalardo, a University of Pittsburgh graduate and former Northampton Community College writing tutor, became a moderator of a group that invited posts of pictures and videos of children aged between six and 14 engaged in sexual acts with adults.
According to the complaint, investigators used international agencies to track down the chat user to Pappalardo, such as using a digital “push token” acquired by Swiss authorities which was used by Google via a federal court order to produce records associated with the token.
The Google data showed the token was associated with Pappalardo’s email address, name, birthdate, and phone number, per the complaint. The investigation eventually led to Pappalardo’s Social Security number, bank accounts, internet activity, PayPal transactions, driver’s license information, LinkedIn account, and other email addresses, police said.
On Feb. 16, 2024, investigators used a government database to locate international travel and U.S. passport records for Pappalardo, which showed her fly from Newark, NJ to Dublin, Ireland and then to Rome on Oct. 5, 2019. A record then shows Pappalardo flew from Rome to Newark on Oct. 20, 2023, four years later.
Verizon phone records led investigators to an address on West Goepp Street in Bethlehem, according to the complaint, with the contact on the Verizon account as “Matt Samsung.” Authorities also found Pappalardo’s Instagram page, which allegedly showed a photo of his passport book and boarding passes to Ireland and Italy.
Investigators allege Pappalardo shared child pornography via his Android Pixel 6 smartphone and his Windows laptop.
During the November 2024 cruise ship search, investigators found a locked folder on Pappalardo’s cell phone; its contents allegedly contained photographs of a juvenile Kik user showed her naked body and numerous videos of a 13- or 14-year-old boy in transition. Officials asked Pappalardo if he resided on Casselberry Drive and he said he did and confirmed his address on his license, police said.
On Nov. 15, 2024, detectives conducted a search warrant on Pappalardo’s home, where several electronic devices were seized and turned over to Homeland Security, police said.
All in all, 210 child sexual abuse materials – 167 images and 43 videos – were found on Pappalardo’s computers and phones, police allege.
Of the 210 items of CSAM, 34 were associated with an image or video of one child previously identified by law enforcement as a child listed by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Pappalardo is free after posting $75,000 cash bond and a preliminary hearing is scheduled for Sept. 10 before Magisterial District Judge Cathleen Kelly Rebar. He is represented by West Chester attorney William Whitenack Jr.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Lauren Elizabeth Marvel.
Pappalardo is no longer employed at WebstaurantStore, according to a company representative.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using public court records.
