The State of Arizona v. Matthew Spencer Trask was held in the Central Court Building in Downtown Phoenix. After a year of being on trial, Trask’s case finally came to a close Thursday morning.

In the case, Trask was charged with an attempt to commit sexual exploitation of a minor and a dangerous crime against children. In July 2023, Trask’s phone number was linked with 46 images of child pornography in addition to photographs he had taken of his daughter’s friend.

According to official court documents, Synchronoss Technologies reported the images associated with the number, and the Arizona Task Force took over.  The cybertips were investigated by the Phoenix Police Department. They were found to contain files that depicted child sexual abuse, violating the statute covering sexual exploitation of a minor, which is a Class 2 felony. 

According to Judge Pamela Dunne, “the defendant admitted that he was looking for youngster pornography.”

Court documents state that Trask was interrogated post-Miranda and admitted to seeking out images, downloading them to his phone and then deleting them. He also admitted to taking inappropriate pictures of his daughter’s 10-year-old friend, claiming it was “motivation to help his daughter lose weight, and he denied it being out of sexual interests.”

Trask denied any previous knowledge that the images were of children. 

Nathan Morales, the county attorney, took the place of Erin Pedicone, who had been handling the previous proceedings of the case,  as she was out sick. Morales referred to notes left by Pedicone and said that the state’s recommendation was lifetime probation. 

According to the retained counsel, Andrew Marcantel, Trask has only three points on the risk assessment. . 

“One point for his felony, one for registering as a sex offender, and one for having divorced parents,” Marcantel said.

Marcantel went on to ask the court for lifetime probation. Trask was permitted to make a statement before Dunne’s ruling. 

“I appreciate your time and thank you for your time. I look forward to moving on,” Trask said. 

Dunne declared the court found Trask guilty. Trask was sentenced to a full year in jail with his release date being set for Oct. 10, 2025. 

Trask is no longer able to consume or possess alcoholic beverages. 

The terms of his probation include his title as a sex offender, monitored computer usage, minor restrictions, sex offender registration and substance abuse treatment. 

The court has permitted Trask to have supervised contact with his daughter, however, he is not permitted to interact with any other minors. 

Trask will be required to pay financial obligations adding up to an amount totaling nearly $1000. Some of the fees include a Sexual Assault Assessment as well as a Sex Offender Registration Fee.  

The court ruled that Trask’s crimes were non-dangerous and non-repetitive. Dunne said that she believes that Trask has learned from his actions. 

“I think you realize the gravity of these searches and how they cannot be continued,” Dunne said. 

Trask was escorted out of the courtroom in handcuffs and taken into custody where he will begin serving his sentence.