Former Riverside Counselor Sentenced to 30 Years for Child Pornography

Matthew Daniel Johnson, a former school counselor at La Sierra Academy in Riverside, was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for possessing child sexual abuse material and secretly recording students in a bathroom. Johnson, 34, admitted to hiding a pen-shaped recording device in a toilet paper holder, which was discovered during a March 2020 search of his home that led to the seizure of numerous illegal videos featuring prepubescent boys. Investigators found over 100 illicit video files depicting more than 60 minors, with some victims as young as three years old. Johnson also recorded children while working as a chaperone at a Bible camp. He pleaded guilty in October 2024 to federal charges of production and possession of child pornography, and he will face a lifetime of supervised release upon his release from prison. A restitution hearing is scheduled for May 28.