Child sex assault charges dropped against CMPD officer

Prosecutors have dropped child sex assault charges against a veteran Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer, multiple media outlets reported on Friday.

Officer Matthew Porter, 54, faced 28 felony charges, including 20 counts of indecent liberties and eight counts of first-degree sex offense, police said at a news conference in February. The charges involved “multiple sex offenses” against a girl who was 10 or 11 at the time, police said at the news conference, The Charlotte Observer reported.

On Friday, the Mecklenburg County District Attorney’s Office confirmed that the charges have been dropped, Observer news partner WBTV reported.

In court documents, prosecutors said they dropped the charges because of “insufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt” that Porter committed the offenses, WSOC-TV reported.

CMPD began investigating after Nevada police contacted them in early February, CMPD Deputy Chief Katrina Graue said at the February news conference, the Observer reported at the time.

Two CMPD detectives interviewed the teen, now 17, and her family. Police also interviewed family members in North Carolina, Graue said at the news conference, the Observer reported.

This story was originally published July 27, 2018 at 7:39 PM.