Former School Counselor in Riverside Pleads Guilty to Child Sexual Exploitation Crimes, Including Hiding Cameras Inside Bathrooms

LOS ANGELES – A former counselor at a private school in Riverside County pleaded guilty today to possessing child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and placing a hidden camera inside bathrooms to film boys using the toilet and showers.

Matthew Daniel Johnson, 34, of Bryan, Texas, pleaded guilty to one count of production of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. He was remanded into federal custody after he pleaded guilty.

According to his plea agreement, law enforcement searched Johnson’s home in March 2020 and seized several videos featuring minor boys engaged in sexual activity. The videos depicted victims under the age of 12 and some as young as 3 to 5 years old.

During the search of his residence, Johnson admitted to law enforcement that he had hidden a pen-shaped recording device in a toilet paper holder inside of a school bathroom, across the hall from his office as a school counselor at La Sierra Academy in Riverside.

Inside Johnson’s office, law enforcement found an external hard drive which contained more than 100 video files depicting approximately 62 minors, which were created by Johnson by hiding a recording device inside a bathroom. The recording device was hidden inside a toilet paper roll to capture the genitals of minor boys using the toilet.

Another video file depicted Johnson adjusting a recording device inside a different bathroom at a Junior High School Bible Camp where he was working as a chaperone of children attending the camp. The video file subsequently captured minor boys using the toilet and the shower.

Johnson further admitted to using and employing a minor victim in January 2020 for the purpose of creating a visual depiction of the victim engaging in sexual conduct.

United States District Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett scheduled a February 5, 2025, sentencing hearing, at which time Johnson will face a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison and up to 50 years in federal prison.

The Fontana Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, Riverside Police Department, and the FBI investigated this matter.

Assistant United States Attorney Sonah Lee of the Riverside Branch Office is prosecuting this case.