UTAH/LOUISIANA
Standard-Examiner
By ANDREAS RIVERA Standard-Examiner staff
SOUTH OGDEN — A former resident of Louisiana was extradited from Utah after investigators charged him with the sexual abuse of two young girls nearly 15 years ago.
Matthew Todd Wallis, a South Ogden resident, was arrested in August and extradited to Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana to face charges related to aggravated sexual abuse involving a girl as young as 4 years old at the time, according to a press release from the Plaquemines Parish Sheriff’s Office.
The alleged crime happened in Belle Chasse, a suburb of New Orleans, between 1999 and 2000. Police began looking into the allegations in May 2014 after the alleged victim came forward.
The girl told police that Wallis repeatedly abused her and on one occasion, recorded it with a camcorder. Other witnesses said the video was destroyed by Wallis’ mother in an attempt to “make it all go away,” according to the release. Wallis’ parents then admitted to police that they burned the tape in order to protect their son, police said.
Another witness told police that a second victim came forward to the bishop of Wallis’ LDS Church congregation in Louisiana. Officers said Wallis confided in the bishop about the abuse, who set him on a “repentance program.” There was no indication that the bishop, who has since died, ever told police about Wallis’ confession.
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