ALLEGAN, Mich. – The fire chief in Allegan County will head to trial on charges of making and distributing child pornography.
Matthew Gillies waived his rights to a preliminary hearing Wednesday, so the case will go directly to trial. He is currently free on bond. He has been suspended from the fire department.
Gillies faces five charges including second degree criminal sexual conduct, manufacturing child sexually abusive material, possessing child sexually abusive material and two count of using a computer to commit a crime.
According to a Michigan State Police trooper who swore in the probable cause statement in court, investigators were notified of multiple Flickr photo accounts they believed Gillies created under multiple names. The accounts had sexually abusive material on them that were traced back to IP addresses on computers in both Gillies’ home and the fire station, the trooper said.
Gillies was promoted to fire chief in September.
