Firefighter Charged With Soliciting RI Teenager For Sex

FALL RIVER, MA — A 10-year veteran of the Fall River Fire Department was arrested Tuesday and charged with sexually exploiting a child. Edward Mathias, 40, of Wheeler Street in Fall River, is accused of arranging to meet whom he believed to be a 14-year-old girl from Rhode Island for sex.

Mathias was arrested by members of the Rhode Island State Police/Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and arraigned in 3rd Division District Court on one count each of electronically disseminating indecent material to a minor and indecent solicitation of a child. He was released on $2,500 personal recognizance, with the requirements that he have no contact with children and have restricted use of the internet.

If found guilty of the solicitation charge, Mathias faces up to five years in prison, while he could face up to five years in prison, a $5,000 fine, or both if found guilty of the dissemination charge.