Perv Potosi Cop Matthew Skaggs Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison

The former lawman, who used his position to prey on teen boys, was training to be a school resource officer at the time of his arrest

Feb 14, 2024 at 3:06 pm

Matthew Skaggs is a former Potosi cop. WASHINGTON COUNTY

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A former police officer in Potosi, Missouri, who used his position to prey on teen boys has been sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Matthew Skaggs, now 40, pleaded guilty in November to felony charges of sex trafficking, solicitation of child pornography and coercion and enticement of a minor. He was sentenced today by U.S. District Court Judge Matthew Schelp.

Skaggs made contact with his victims in a variety of ways — but several involved taking advantage of his status as a law enforcement officer. In one case he asked a teen if he wanted to participate in a police ride-along program and offered to help the minor get out of legal trouble. He also convinced one boy with a troubled home life to move in with him.

Prosecutors say Skaggs gave one teen vape cartridges in exchange for nude pics — making the handoff inside a middle school bathroom. He also gave his victims alcohol, CBD and THC. In one case, he had sex with his victim.

The U.S. Attorney's Office says that Skaggs' schemes unraveled when one of the minors told his mother. He was arrested in the parking lot of a Best Western, where he was training to become a school resource officer, according to his guilty plea.

One of the mothers of Skaggs' victims wrote a blistering letter before his sentencing. In it, she accused Skaggs of grooming her son when he was just 12 years old — and giving him alcohol for his 13th birthday. "This was not a one-time offense," she wrote. "You were playing a sick game."

She added, "Your actions have made my child distrust adults of authority, he has had nightmares, sleeping problems, depression and anger issues. ... During one of his counseling sessions, it was brought up that he felt he could not tell anyone at that time because he knew if he called for help, you are the officer that was sent. You scared him and intimidated him.

"He was scared that you would come to our home or his father's home and take him. He was scared that you would harm his family."

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Sarah Fenske

Sarah Fenske is the executive editor of the RFT and its sister papers. She is the former host of St. Louis on the Air and continues to host its Legal Roundtable, as well participating as an occasional panelist on Nine PBS' Donnybrook. She lives in St. Louis.

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