With guilty plea, former Nampa pastor could get decades in prison for child porn

NAMPA (Idaho Statesman) — A former senior pastor at a Nampa church has entered into a plea agreement in a case involving child pornography charges.

Matthew Masiewicz, 53, was arrested in September and charged with 13 felony counts involving child sexually exploitive material: six for distribution, six for possession and one for generating “visual representation” using artificial intelligence.

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Masiewicz, who was a pastor at Sovereign Grace Fellowship in Nampa, originally pleaded not guilty to all counts. But on Feb. 5, he signed an agreement to plead guilty to three counts of distributing child sexually exploitive material and one count of possession, according to online court records.

Each count of distribution carries a penalty of up to 30 years in prison; each count of possession carries up to 10 years; and the child porn AI charge could have had a sentence of up to 30 years, according to Idaho state law.

Masiewicz’s bond was set at $2 million after he was arrested, with 3rd District Judge John Meierhofer saying, “The images are horrific, as described.”

According to the case’s affidavit of probable cause, the Canyon County Prosecutor’s Office was given a tip by the Idaho Crimes Against Children Task Force, which led to two IP addresses that uploaded child sexually exploitive material. One account was registered to Sovereign Grace Fellowship and one to Masiewicz. Law enforcement used a search warrant to examine Masiewicz’s laptop and his phone, and investigators said they found child pornography on both devices.

During an interview with investigators, Masiewicz originally denied any knowledge of the material. But he later stated, ‘I’m going to own this,’” according to the affidavit. Masiewicz denied having physical contact with any children but admitted to using AI to alter images to create child pornography.

Sovereign Grace Fellowship is a church that’s part of the Reformed Baptist Network. Masiewicz became a pastor there in 2012 and was elevated to senior pastor in 2020. He regularly handled Sunday sermons, according to an archived page from the church’s website.

The church removed Masiewicz from his position as soon as it learned of the charges against him.

Masiewicz’s sentencing will be held on April 2 at 8:30 a.m. at the Canyon County Courthouse under 3rd District Judge Brent Whiting.