Former Camp Fitch director sentenced in child porn case

A federal judge has sentenced former Camp Fitch Executive Director Matthew Poese for child pornography.

Poese was sentenced to one day in jail, 12 months of home detention and ordered to pay a $5,000 fine. 

Poese, pleaded guilty in August to one count of possession of material depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor.

Court records show that Poese allegedly had explicit content on a cell phone, a hard drive and a network storage area.

Until his arrest earlier this year, Poese was in charge of the YMCA-operated residential summer camp on the shores of Lake Erie between Erie, Pennsylvania, and the Ohio State Line.

According to the U.S. Attorney,  Poese possessed computer images depicting prepubescent minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct.

The law provides for a total sentence of 10 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both.

Poese’s attorney claims the case involves one image. Poese's sentencing memorandum says the image that resulted in the federal charge was that of a nude pre-pubescent female standing in a modeling pose exposing her breasts and vaginal area.

At the time charges were filed, a YMCA official said the allegation did not involve any of the YMCA's campers, nor was there any evidence that Poese acted inappropriately with any of the campers with Camp Fitch. 

Due in part to Poese’s previous lack of previous crimes, his attorney asked Judge David Cercone to sentence Poese to one day in custody, electronically-monitored home detention with work privileges, followed by five years probation.

The memo is accompanied by a 430-page supplement containing letters of support from more than 150 people who know Poese, most from his association with Camp Fitch.

The letters are accompanied by pictures of the writers, many from their time at Camp Fitch.

The letters come from business owners, executives, professionals like teachers,  lawyers, doctors, nurses, professors, students, family members, acquaintances and others from the Valley, the United States, London, and Hong Kong.

One of those business owners, Sam Boak of  Boak & Sons, Inc. says he would hire Poese, according to the sentencing memo.

“I have been a Board of Directors member for approximately 15 years, and I was ecstatic when he became the camp director. I knew Matt’s involvement would be a fantastic opportunity for not only the children but also his peers at Camp Fitch to be positively influenced by his leadership,” wrote Boak in his letter of support.

Some of the letters, like that from Abby Hazi nurse practitioner Pittsburgh, talk about how Poese influenced their life either as a camper or staff member of Camp Fitch.

“Matthew was a major part of my life as a teenager and young adult. I worked as part of the waterfront staff at Camp Fitch and he taught me how to sail, drive boats, give waterskiing lessons, and be a good lifeguard. He is an eternal teacher to me, and he has always tried to help me better myself,” writes Hazi.

Al Leonhart, Building Engineer, Central YMCA, Youngstown writes; "Taking him from his family cannot serve any useful purpose"

"I am writing to you as a long-time board member of Camp Fitch and Camp Fitch family camper... Incarceration would not serve to punish him any more than what he is already experiencing,” wrote Amy Mirkin, Director of Youngstown CityScape.

Barb Roman, Development Board, Camp Fitch, Austintown told the judge; "I truly believe Matthew Poese will be an asset to society if allowed probation."

Howdy Friend, Development Board President of  Camp Fitch describes the decision to fire Poese as difficult. “I feel was a huge punishment. I have spoken to Matt several times about the mistakes he has made, and I believe he fully regrets his actions. I will continue to be there for Matt in any way I may be helpful. I would urge the Court to consider probation, with guidelines and counseling deemed necessary by the Court, as appropriate punishment. I believe Matt will be able to re-enter society, following treatment, as an even more productive member.”

Poese is getting support from other YMCA colleagues.

"He has received the worst punishment he could receive by losing his job as executive director at Camp Fitch. I do not feel that Matt poses any threat to society and that jail time would be a waste of his talents,” said YMCA Metro Board President JD Mirto in his letter to the court.

Tom Parker, who replaced Poese as Camp Fitch Executive Director wrote about Poese’s family.

“With a daughter just beginning High School and another in Middle School, time is waning before the distance of college and adulthood will limit the time available to spend with those he loves. For sure the next four years will be laden with opportunities for bonding and support and Matt truly treasures the prospect of sharing those moments directly with those he loves,” wrote Parker

One of the most detailed letters came from Poese’s wife Kelly, who is also the Senior Director of Programs at Camp Fitch.

Dear Judge Cercone,

I am proud to introduce myself to you as Matt Poese’s wife. I met Matt Poese in the Summer of 1989. At the time, my father was the acting Boys’ Camp Director at Camp Fitch YMCA, and my family had spent every summer living at Fitch from the time I was about three years old. Matt applied to work as a counselor and was hired by my dad without hesitation. His strong academic performance in high school and a long list of extracurricular activities made him the perfect candidate for the job. Matt continued to work at Fitch every summer after that, quickly falling in love with the strong sense of purpose and belonging that Fitch provided for him.

Matt and I became friends right off the bat and we hung out in the same group of people. We shared a love of music and both played the guitar which is probably what sparked the initial flame of our relationship. Matt was a great listener and always very emotionally attentive. I was quickly enamored with his gentleness and intentionality. At that time in our lives, when we weren’t together at camp, Matt and I were both students in different towns. I remember the physical pain that accompanied the goodbyes every August and the feeling that this relationship we shared was like nothing I had ever experienced before.

The majority of communication during our dating years was done through the United States Postal Service (before e-mail was even a thing). Reading his letters always cemented my interest in him. As a writer, he was engaging, thought-provoking, smart, and funny. As the years went by and our relationship progressed we confessed our love to each other via letter. (All of our correspondence is still in a box in our basement!) We shared trunks full of happy memories at camp summer after summer. In 1999, we were married in the outdoor chapel at Camp Fitch.

This summer, 2 days after the FBI came to our house, marked 20 years of marriage.

There aren't words in the English language to describe how much I love Matt. He is my best friend, my inspiration, my coach, my support, my rock, my comfort... my everything. Having been such close friends for 30 years, we have certainly experienced hard times together; however, the events that have befallen our family in the last 6 months have definitely been the hardest.

If you had the opportunity to meet Matt in a different setting, I am sure that you would enjoy his company. After reading more about you I see that you actually have a lot in common -- children of your own, a distinguished career, and a strong personal commitment to a youth serving organization. Matt’s personality is infectious and he is a great conversationalist. He is the hardest working person I’ve ever met and is always willing to push himself and others to be the best. Matt has lived his life with integrity and is a committed public servant. He finds great satisfaction in helping others, solving problems, and making a difference. Since he was a teenager, he was committed, almost compulsively, to making Camp Fitch the premier Camp in the nation.

After finishing a Mechanical Engineering degree at the University of Cincinnati, Matt began a graduate program in Acoustics at Penn State University to pursue his Ph.D. Upon graduation, he became a faculty member at PSU, both as a research scientist and a professor. During all of those 15 years, Matt used the entirety of his vacation time to volunteer at Camp. In addition to our ten weeks of summer camp, we spent at least one weekend a month driving from State College to North Springfield to contribute at Camp either as fundraisers, organizers, event planners, program coordinators, and lots (and lots) of hours as good old fashioned grunt workers.

As the years progressed we made this trip with a dog, then eventually with two daughters and all of the support gear that a growing family needs for a summer at camp. During all of that time, Matt and I spoke often about a full time career at Fitch. Wouldn’t it be great, we imagined, to really focus on what we felt like we were born to do? In 2008, Camp’s Executive Director retired and Matt applied for the job. Sadly, the hiring committee hired an external applicant in an attempt to bring in some fresh ideas and new blood. Although we were disappointed, we tried to see the silver lining of that decision. In 2014, he applied again for an Associate Executive Director position and was hired -- our dream of working at Camp Fitch full time was finally becoming a reality!

In the 6 years that we worked at Camp together full time, there was not a day that Matt didn’t go to work. Even the day after Christmas, Matt was plowing the roads in the middle of a massive snowstorm so our Equestrian Team could feed the horses.

Matt had a lifetime of ideas that he was now able to make a reality. He researched and implemented several software platforms that have streamlined work across all of our departments. He organized and grew a fundraising event that has generated over a half million dollars in the last 9 years to send kids to camp regardless of their family’s financial situation. He cast a wide net with alumni, staff, and volunteers to include everyone in “the process.” He revitalized our thematic framework and introduced new and important traditions that will last a lifetime. He oversaw the design and construction of 12 new camper cabins along with a master site plan to help guide us in our next chapter of growth. He negotiated with our YMCA association to raise salaries for everyone (but himself) to a livable wage.

He redesigned our website and marketing materials to better narrate the treasures of friendship, achievement and belonging that a Fitch experience provides to campers. These enhancements grew our summer enrollment numbers from 80% to 100% full (with waiting lists!) and in turn, increased Camp Fitch’s total revenue by 50%. This renaissance at Fitch is the most growth in an equivalent time frame that it has ever experienced -- all driven by Matt’s desire to innovate and commitment to execute.

Our family lives in Fairview during the school year and moves on-site to Camp during the summer months. In June, the girls and I moved to our camp house as soon as they finished school, but Matt was so busy with projects and deadlines that he didn’t have time to pack his belongings and move to camp. Consequently, we were not at home with him on June 18th when several armed FBI agents burst into our house at 6 am. When Matt told me about what had happened, my initial reaction was that of a Camp Director. It’s all going to be OK. We’ll find a solution. Don’t worry. Let’s get more information.

Since he was banned from the camp property, and I was living onsite at Fitch operating a demanding 400 camper resident camp program, our time together in the summer was very limited. I pieced his story together in small conversations when I went to visit and had a lot of time to think about things in between -- it felt not unlike our letter writing correspondence back in college. The news was shocking. Never in our 30 years together had I ever had suspicions or evidence by Matt of any form of power imbalance, sexual deviance, or hidden compulsions -- frankly, given his work habits, there would never have been enough hours in the day for him to pursue such demons. He had millions of opportunities at both Penn State and certainly at Camp Fitch and never once was there a single moment of doubt. In fact, during our time together at Fitch, Matt implemented a variety of strategies to increase child protection. He oversaw the transition the state of Pennsylvania made to require clearances for all employees and volunteers.

He pushed on our organization to adopt a software package that helped employees and volunteers submit those clearances and access them during employment. He masterminded a cabin design process that doubled the amount of adult supervision for campers and provided private changing areas and en suite private bathrooms to minimize risk. He implemented a self-reporting system for staff and volunteers to disclose moments when circumstances forced them to violate our foundational rules about child safety (being alone with a child, touching a camper without their consent, etc.) He visioned an entirely new supervision model that reduced opportunities for abuse and bullying. Matt is committed to keeping kids safe and “catching the bad guys.” I can assure you that he is not among them.

Since June 18th, Matt and I have spent hundreds of hours in deep conversation about the charge to which he has pled guilty and what that means for our future. I have supported Matt on every step of this journey and our family has remained fiercely intact. Matt continues to live in our home with our two daughters and I am the sole financial provider, grocery shopper, kid taxi, etc. for our family while he has been on house arrest. For months, we have cried, and prayed, and hoped, and despaired, and dug deep, and leaned in, and… waited. I feel closer to Matt every day. I know that there is nothing that we can’t endure together.

Since June 18th, there has been a dark cloud hanging over our home. Regret does not come anywhere close to describing the emotion that Matt battles every waking moment of every day. In our marriage, we have joked that it’s not clear which he loves more -- our family or Camp Fitch. Losing his job at Fitch, his reputation with the community he’s been fostering for his entire adult life, and the ability to even step foot on this hallowed ground has been unspeakably devastating. Most days Matt struggles to get out of bed. His natural gifts of deep thinking and careful consideration have become a curse. Thoughts just swirl in his head all day -- regrets, fears, uncertainties, and self-loathing rob him of his motivation and drive.

Our daughters have been so strong throughout this ordeal. Susannah (15) just started high school this year. She has been struggling with depression for the last year and a half and has spent hours with her therapist talking about her feelings and the pain that this unknown future has presented. She worries that without the academic support of her dad that she’ll struggle with her honors curriculum -- especially in Science and Math.

She worries about the potential consequences of having a father who is a felon and registered sex offender will have on her social life in these tenuous and intimidating teenage years. Maddy (11) and her dad have always been close. They share the same adventurous, people first, servant heart personality. She manages her emotions in different ways than her sister and loves to spend time with her dad. Her sadness has centered on the possibility of missing him in the day to day -- milestones like birthdays and Christmas (which for her happen to be on the same day), plays and concerts from which he may be absent.

I cannot imagine subjecting these kids to 37 months (or any months frankly) without their father. We need him in our lives and he needs us too. The house arrest that he has been under since August (and the self-imposed house arrest since June 18th) has been difficult and dehumanizing, but we would gladly accept more of it if it meant that Matt could remain with us and not miss this next chapter of the girls’ lives.

My own emotional health is hugely contingent on Matt’s support. I have continued working at Camp Fitch since his termination for the sake of our children and as a means of financial support despite an avalanche of complicated emotions. Every day that I drive to work in the morning I feel like I’m betraying him -- leaving him in bed to contemplate all that he has lost, nauseated by this label of sex offender that has been affixed to him like a scarlet letter despite the fact that he has no sexual affinity for children. It is a label that has already tainted the legacy that he left at Fitch and firmly closed doors for his future. Matt is the only person in the world who understands the complexities of my emotions. I need Matt in my life every day to help me find hope for tomorrow and give me the strength that I need to parent our vulnerable daughters. Our two broken hearts make one whole heart when we’re together.

I know that there are brighter days ahead for all of us -- especially Matt. He has always been the guy who can make something out of nothing. His creative drive and relentless work ethic are a great asset to this world. It is my most desperate hope that you will see beyond this tragic mistake and allow him to begin again. Know that this new start will be emptier without Camp Fitch, but purposeful nonetheless.

One of the blessings of Matt’s house arrest has been the time that we have been able to spend together. My parents, Matt’s parents, friends from camp, our kids, have, in some combination, almost nightly dinners, game nights and opportunities to talk. We all support Matt with our whole hearts and intend to be with him as he faces this new life.

Matt will make us proud again -- of this I am certain. He will continue to change the world for the better and will embrace the opportunity to be mindful of his work/life balance for all of our sake. I humbly request that you give him the opportunity to get started on that journey without incarceration and let us start to put this behind him, and restore some sense of hope to our family.

Respectfully yours,

Kelly Poese

 

Poese's sentencing memo may be read here