Cybertips Lead To Child Porn Charges Against Godfrey Man
GODFREY – A Godfrey resident faces multiple child pornography charges after “numerous cybertips” spurred a multi-agency investigation and search of his home.
Matthew P. Costello, 51 of Godfrey, was charged on Jan. 30, 2025 with five counts of child pornography, each Class X felonies.
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Costello is accused of disseminating child porn via the Kik application throughout the summer and fall of 2024. The offenses reportedly occurred on Aug. 8, Oct. 9, July 17, and July 27, 2024.
A petition to deny Costello’s pretrial release states the case against him began on Jan. 23, 2025, when the Madison County Sheriff's Department started investigating “numerous cybertips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children” (NCMEC) which had been transferred from the Edwardsville Police Department.
“NCMEC originally forwarded these cybertips of an individual disseminating child pornography on the Kik application,” the petition states. “Edwardsville Police detectives determined that the IP addresses associated with the dissemination of these files returned to [the 1300 block of] Bethany Lane, Godfrey, Ill. where the defendant resides.”
Madison County Sheriff’s Deputies then executed a search warrant at Costello’s residence on Jan. 29, 2025, when he was brought into custody.
“Through the investigation, deputies discovered that the individual associated with this IP address disseminated and received numerous videos and images of child pornography in various chat groups,” the petition adds.
The Madison County Sheriff’s Office presented the case against Costello, who currently remains in custody.
To report child sexual exploitation, visit report.cybertip.org to file a cybertip with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which can be done anonymously.
Charges are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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