CHARLOTTE — A former Mecklenburg County deputy court clerk and longtime Charlotte youth volleyball coach is facing charges after investigators said he paid for sexually explicit videos and photos of underage girls for years through Instagram.
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Channel 9’s crime reporter Hunter Sáenz uncovered court documents laying out the case that stretches from Texas to Charlotte.
Kent Matzinger, 43, has resigned from the county after the warrant was issued for his arrest.
Matzinger is accused of buying sexually explicit pictures and videos of young girls.
“You hear about it on TV but to hear it right in your neighborhood. That’s a little bit too close for me,” said a resident who lives nearby on Dallas Avenue in Charlotte’s Oakhurst neighborhood.
Police in Texas reached out to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department after a man “posing as a (16 year-old) female” on “Instagram” told authorities a man “named Kent had sent him a lot of money through Cash App and gift cards” to “purchase” the inappropriate “videos and images,” according to court documents.
Investigators said that Instagram account was used to purchase the photos, and they traced it back to Matzinger in Oakhurst.
Many young families live in the community.
“Lots of kids come up the street by themselves man, you know it. I’m sure I’ll make it a point to be sitting on the porch sometimes,” a neighbor said.
Channel 9 confirmed Matzinger coached with Carolina Juniors Volleyball Club for 16 years. The volleyball club said they were shocked and Matzinger resigned without explanation last week.
The club said no complaints were ever filed against him there.
Detectives said these crimes were happening for years and some of the victims whose photos and videos were sold to Matzinger were as young as 14 years old.
[ LINK: Resources for Child Sexual Exploitation Survivors ]
He’s charged with two counts of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor.
Matzinger bonded out of jail.
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