An Orlando Democratic politician has been arrested for horrific crimes against children after he was caught as part of a sting operation that led to a search of the man’s computer, which was full of explicit material that could land the Florida Democrat in jail for 20 years.
For context, Matthew Inman, an Orlando, Florida, resident and Orange County Democratic Party treasurer, was arrested on January 26, 2025, after he was charged with crimes against children, with the Department of Justice confirming that Inman had been followed by undercover law enforcement officers starting in October 2024, which allowed the FBI to obtain a search warrant for Inman’s home and confiscate incriminating evidence.
In a press release from January 17, 2025, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida confirmed that Inman had been arrested and charged with “transportation of child sex abuse material,” adding that if he was convicted, Inman’s minimum penalty would be “5 years, up to 20 years, in federal prison.”
Additionally, the DOJ revealed that in 2024, Inman “began talking online with an undercover law enforcement officer posing as the father of a 9-year-old boy,” adding that the Democratic politician then “expressed interest in meeting and sexually assaulting the purported child.” Adding to the horrific nature of the scandal, the DOJ also clarified that Inman “also sent CSAM videos to the undercover officer.”
Furthermore, the press release confirmed that the FBI caught Inman after he “received and saved several videos of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) to his phone,” adding that while FBI agents were searching Inman’s house, he “attempted to delete the evidence from his phone and hide in the attic of his house.”
Continuing, the press release clarified that Inman was arrested as part of Project Safe Childhood, a DOJ initiative created in 2006 to “combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.” According to the Department of Justice, Project Safe Childhood obtained “3,248 indictments against 3,422 defendants for offenses involving the sexual exploitation of minors” in just one year.
Moreover, according to press accounts, the Democratic Party released a statement condemning Inman’s actions, saying, “We are deeply appalled and horrified by the news that Matthew Inman has been arrested on charges of sexual abuse involving a minor.” The party’s statement went on to say that they “unequivocally condemn child sexual abuse in the strongest possible terms and hop (sic) that any victims involved receive the support and resources they need moving forward.”
"*" indicates required fields
Continuing, the party’s statement clarified that Inman had been suspended “from all voluntary roles and responsibilities,” which included acting as treasurer of the Orange County Democratic Party and, according to press accounts, acting as president of the “Rainbow Democrats,” an Orlando nonprofit that aims to “foster goodwill between lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, and allied members of the Democratic Party and the community at large.”
Featured image credit: Seminole County Jail