McKenzie sentenced to 20 years in prison

Mathew Ryan McKenzie
Mathew Ryan McKenzie

BENTONVILLE -- Mathew Ryan McKenzie of Rogers was sentenced to 20 years in prison on 10 counts of distributing, possessing or viewing matter depicting sexually explicit conduct involving a child.

McKenzie, 40, pleaded guilty Monday. He was charged with 10 additional counts, but those charges were dismissed as part of the plea agreement.

He was arrested Sept. 28, 2016, following an investigation by the Benton County Sheriff's Office. Sheriff's detectives got a warrant and seized a laptop and other items from McKenzie's home, according to a probable cause affidavit.

Multiple items of child pornography were found on the laptop, including videos and images depicting sexually explicit activities involving unknown juvenile victims ranging in estimated ages from 4 to 16, according to the affidavit.

Benton County Circuit Judge Robin Green sentenced McKenzie to the state Department of Correction. He will have to abide by a suspended sentence agreement for seven years after his release from prison and will be required to register as a sex offender.

The judge ordered McKenzie not to have unsupervised contact with minors.

NW News on 08/15/2018

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