A Cobb Police officer fired this week for distributing obscene materials, public indecency and violating his oath of office is alleged to have committed those offenses while on duty in Precinct 4 in East Cobb.
An arrest warrant for Matthew Abbott, 36, said that the offenses occurred in February and in June and included sending electronic messages depicting child pornography and exposing himself in public, including the parking lot at Kincaid Elementary School in Northeast Cobb earlier this summer.
Cobb Police said Thursday that Abbott was “relieved of duty” after a Georgia Bureau of Investigation probe, and after being notified by the Utah Attorney General’s Office about an investigation identifying him.
Interim Cobb Police Chief Dan Ferrell said Thursday that “the allegations in this case are extremely disturbing and do not reflect the values of our department,” but neither Cobb Police nor the GBI detailed the charges in their public statements.
Abbott was arrested at his Marietta home Thursday morning on one count of violating his oath of office, a felony, and one count of distribution of obscene materials and two counts of public indecency, which are misdemeanors. He remains in the Cobb County Adult Detention Center without bond, according to Cobb Sheriff’s Office booking reports.
His arrest warrant said that on Feb. 5, Abbott sent electronic messages “describing explicit sexual acts with children between the ages of 8 and 12 years old, knowing the obscene nature of said material” to an unidentified person while on duty at the Precinct 4 headquarters on Lower Roswell Road.
Abbott also is accused of “performing an act of lewd exposure of his sexual organs in a public place” while on duty in the parking lot at Kincaid ES on the afternoon of June 2. The warrant doesn’t state if anyone else was present, but that date was during the Cobb County School District summer break.
The warrant also alleges that on June 9, Abbott also exposed himself and masturbated in the parking lot of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on New Macland Road in Powder Springs, also while on duty.
Abbott could be facing further charges, according to Cobb Police, who said they have turned over all investigative duties to the GBI “to ensure a fair and impartial process.”
Related:
- Cobb Police officer fired amid ‘extremely disturbing’ probe
- Elderly man attacked at NE Cobb home; suspect arrested
- Suspects arrested in Pa. for 2024 murder on Powers Ferry Road
- KSU art professor charged with aggravated assault in NE Cobb
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