Former Mooresville police officer arrested for sexual exploitation of a minor

SHERRILLS FORD, N.C. — A former officer with the Mooresville Police Department was fired after his arrest for four counts of third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor, the department announced Wednesday afternoon.

Channel 9 began looking into a police investigation that was underway Wednesday in a neighborhood south of Sherrills Ford. Police could be seen going in and out of a home before noon as Chopper 9 Skyzoom flew overhead.

Matthew Edward Beebe, 37, of Sherrill’s Ford, was arrested Wednesday and is in the Iredell County Detention Center on under a $60,000 bond. Beebe’s address matches the home being searched Wednesday morning.

Channel 9′s Dave Faherty was the only reporter at the scene after getting the tip of the investigation. Neighbors confirmed to Faherty that the resident of the home is a police officer.

On Friday, the Mooresville Police Department got information that an officer was engaged in sexual misconduct with a minor.

On Tuesday, search and arrest warrants were issued for Beebe. Police arrested Beebe the next day.

He was suspended on Friday pending the investigation, the police department said. He was fired on Wednesday.

Detectives found child sexual abuse material on Beebe’s phone, MPD Chief Ron Campurciani said in a news conference after the arrest.

“The search warrant today allowed us to get his computers out of his home,” Campurciani said. “We expect there to be more information on those computers. We haven’t started that yet.”

The police chief believes some of the incidents happened at Beebe’s home.

“We believe that some of these incidents may have taken place at his residence in Sherrills Ford. So, Catawba County is involved in this also,” the police chief said.

Campurciani praised the department’s quick actions in the investigation, and he added that Beebe wasn’t aware of any part of the investigation before his arrest.

According to Campurciani, the charges are based on images that were found on Beebe’s phone. He said he anticipates that investigators will find more evidence on computers that were seized from Beebe’s home.

Additional charges are anticipated, Campurciani said.

“I think there’s a good possibility there may be more victims,” Campurciani said.

Due to the multi-jurisdiction investigation, the Iredell County District Attorney’s Office requested a special prosecutor.

According to a Facebook post shared by MPD over a decade ago, Beebe was previously employed with the Catawba County Sheriff’s Office.

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