Former Potosi Officer Sentenced

(St. Louis, MO) A former Potosi Police Officer, 40 year old Matthew N. Skaggs, is sentenced to 25 years in prison for his conviction on soliciting sexual acts and nude pictures in exchange for cash, vape cartridges and other items from three male minors. In 2022 Skaggs made contact with three minors via social media applications such as Snapchat, and through his position as a police officer. Skaggs made the acquaintance of one victim by asking the minor if he wanted to participate in a police ride along program in Skaggs’s patrol vehicle. He encountered another minor victim by offering to assist him in getting out of some minor legal trouble. The minor victims reported being afraid to report or refuse Skaggs whose crimes came to light when one of the minor victims disclosed Skaggs’s actions to his mother. Skaggs pled in November to three felony charges: sex trafficking, solicitation of child pornography, and coercion and enticement of a minor. The Missouri State Highway Patrol investigated the case.