Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - A former administrator at the Gow School in South Wales has pleaded guilty to prducing child pornography.
U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo's office announced Tuesday that Matthew Fisher, 51, of South Wales pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeremiah McCarthy. He faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years in prison, a maximum of 30 years, and a $250,000 fine.
Between June 2022 and November 2023, Fisher was employed as the Associate Director of Enrollment and Management at the Gow School, a private boarding school in South Wales, NY. Fisher resided on the Gow School campus.
He utilized hidden cameras to create and attempt to create videos of, at least, five minor males engaged in sexually explicit conduct. During the investigation, several of Fisher's electronic devices were seized and found to contain child pornography depicting the five victims and several yet to be identified minor individuals.
Sentencing will be scheduled at a later date.
The Gow School, a college-preparatory school for students with dyslexia and other learning disabilities, released the following statement:
"The Gow School community worked hard to put Fisher's offenses behind us and focus on the positive achievements of our faculty and students. We want to emphasize that we are not aware of any Gow student being involved in the crimes to which Fisher pled guilty. Gow School officials first alerted law enforcement to Fisher's actions, which led to this guilty plea. The Gow School also strengthened all of its protocols designed to protect everyone in the Gow community.
"During its search for evidence, the FBI seized a number of items, including cameras, from Fisher's residence, but not from any dorm or other Gow building. Gow also independently hired an experienced security company to sweep its campus to ensure that there were no other hidden recording devices present. No cameras or other recording devices of any kind were found outside of Fisher's residence.
"We are a different school today, a better one, and we commit daily to maintaining the safety and well-being of everyone involved with Gow."
