Kenton County Asks Possible Victims of Accused Abuser to Come Forward

Investigators say that they know Matthew Ryan Bucher had a sexual relationship with a 12-year old girl and that he possessed tens of thousands of images of child pornography.

What they want to know now, nine months after Bucher as originally arrested, is whether there are more possible victims.

During a search of Bucher's electronic devices, detectives said that they found photos taken from the same camera showing multiple females that they believe to be under the age of consent in Kentucky, engaged in sexual acts and sexual poses.

"Our problem is now we have been unable to identify all the victims," said Kenton County Commonwealth's Attorney Rob Sanders, who hosted a press conference about the case with Kenton County Police Chief Spike Jones on Friday. "We are asking for the public's assistance."

Sanders and Jones hope that the community or victims will recognize Bucher and report any suspicions to the police.

"We don't know how many victims he's victimized," Jones said, noting that they believe there could be females from outside of the immediate area, too, like Louisville and Dayton, Oh. "There are people who have probably been in contact with Bucher who are ashamed to report what happened to them," Jones said.

"He commits these heinous acts on these children - our victim is 12 years old - he's an adult, and then he shames these children so they don't tell on him," Jones said. "This is the worst of the worst."

Investigators believe that Bucher, who is 29, would pose in online chatrooms and mobile apps as an older teen male, 18 or 19, and develop relationships with underage girls. He even met some of the girls' parents, investigators said. Bucher lived in Ft. Mitchell in an apartment with his mother and worked at a restaurant. He has been in the Kenton County Detention Center since June 29, 2016, and is set to go to trial on July 18.

But - if more victims are identified - he could face more than the second degree rape charge, six counts of promoting a sexual performance by a minor, and six counts of possession of child pornography.

"There are people who have probably been in contact with Bucher who are ashamed to report what happened to them," Jones said. "We are pleading with you to come forward because we have to stop this guy."

Sanders said that investigators believe that Bucher committed the alleged crimes over a period of four or five years, and that there are ten to twelve more underage girls that investigators believe appear in photographs found on Bucher's devices.