A D.C. police officer has been arrested and is being held without bond on charges of soliciting sex from a minor and soliciting child pornography.
Lt. Matthew Mahl, a 23-year veteran of the Metropolitan Police Department, was arrested April 14 in Harford County, Maryland, according to Washington, D.C.-based NBC affiliate WRC-TV.
Charging documents allege that Mahl messaged someone he believed was a 15-year-old boy named “Nate” on the Reddit forum “r/GayYoungOldDating,” who was actually an undercover Harford County sheriff’s deputy.
Mahl began a series of a sexually explicit series of text exchanges, including sending sexually explicit pictures of himself to the person whom he thought was the 15-year-old.
He allegedly provided his real name during the exchanges, identifying himself as a D.C. police lieutenant in the special events branch of the department’s special operations division, where he helped provide security for President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and other officials.
Mahl also allegedly shared his phone number, which detectives linked to him, along with a photo of himself in uniform in his police cruiser and at least one explicit image taken on a couch in his police office.
According to the New York Post, Mahl allegedly described “Nate” as “young and inexperienced” during their conversations and asked if he was a sophomore in high school. In one exchange, court documents say Mahl wrote that he wished “it was 2/11/27 sooooo bad,” referring to the date he believed would be the boy’s 16th birthday, the age of consent in Maryland.
According to WRC-TV, court documents allege that Mahl acknowledged the boy’s age, said he could lose everything if caught, requested sexually explicit photos, and arranged to meet the 15-year-old after school.
The deputy who was part of the investigation allegedly arranged to meet up with Mahl, claiming that his parents would be out of town. When Mahl showed up at a Harford County residence for what prosecutors claim was a sexual encounter with the 15-year-old, he was arrested and charged with the two child solicitation charges.
At a bail review hearing on April 15, a judge found probable cause and ordered Mahl held without bond pending a preliminary hearing scheduled for May 15.
Mahl previously served as the acting supervisor of the Metropolitan Police Department’s then-Gay & Lesbian Liaison Unit in 2013 when he held the rank of sergeant. That year, he was honored by the local violence prevention group Gays and Lesbians Opposing Violence with its Guardian Award for his work combating hate crimes.
Mahl previously served as acting supervisor of the Metropolitan Police Department’s then-Gay & Lesbian Liaison Unit in 2013, when he held the rank of sergeant. That year, he received the Guardian Award from the local violence prevention group Gays and Lesbians Opposing Violence for his work combating hate crimes.
A decade ago, Mahl made history, becoming the first openly gay chairman of the D.C. Police Union.
The Metropolitan Police Department said the Harford County Sheriff’s Office contacted its Internal Affairs Division shortly after Mahl’s arrest.
“The allegations in this case are extremely disturbing, and in direct contrast to the values of the Metropolitan Police Department,” the department said in a statement. “MPD’s Internal Affairs Division will investigate any policy violations once the criminal case concludes. MPD is not involved in the criminal investigation and was not aware of it until today.”
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser also addressed Mahl’s arrest.
“We don’t have any knowledge of any accusation or any investigation involving the District, his employment or any of our children, and I don’t really know what else to say,” she said. “We don’t want anybody like that on our force if those allegations are true.”
An attorney for Mahl at the Harford County Public Defender’s Office did not respond to a request for comment.
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